®Itp  i.  1.  litU  ICtbrarii 


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Forestry 
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1-6 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  DATE 
INDICATED  BELOW  AND  IS  SUB- 
JECT TO  AN  OVERDUE  FINE  AS 
POSTED  AT  THE  CIRCULATION 
DESK. 


f-lwl 


SEP  2  9  200J 


■4-1988- 


APR  2  6  199T 


MAR  1  ■\19|b 


FEB  1  4  199^ 
1  1   tS94 

N0VJ^,5  1995 

JUL  15  1996 

OCT  3  ^m 
'4AIi  21139? 


m 


Bulletin' No.  1?^  (Revised  Edition). 

U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

DIVISION    OF    FORESTRY. 


^OT/l^y 


^^bbary 


XH  K 


TIMBER  PINES  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  UNITED  STATES. 


By    CHARLES     MOHR,    Ph.    D. 


T0GKTH7iR    WITH 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THEIR  WOOD. 


By    FILIBERT    ROTH. 


PRKIARF.n   UNDliR    TlIK    UIRKCTION   OK    1!.   K.  FERNOW,  CHIEF   OK  THE   DIVISION  OF    FORESTRY. 


WASlIINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    pRINTING     OFFICE. 

1S9T. 


s 


Bulletin  No.  13  (Revised  Edition) 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


DIVISION    OF    FORESTRY. 


1    H  E 


TIMBER  FINES  OF  THE  SOrTIIERN  FNITEO  STATES. 


By    CHARLES     MOHR,    Ph.    D. 


TOGETHKR    WITH 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THEIR  WOOD. 

By    FILIBERT    ROTH. 


PREPARED   VNDER   THE   DIRECTION   OE    B.   E.  FERNOW,  CHIEF   OF   THE    DIVISION   OF   FORESTRY. 


WASHINGTON: 

G  O  V  E  R  N  JI  K  N  T     PRINTING     O  F  F  I  CI  E  . 

1  S  9  7  . 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Division  of  Forestry, 
Washington,  D.  C,  November  1,  1897.- 

Sir:  I  have  tlie  honor  to  submit  herewith  for  publication  a  revised  and  enlarged  edition  of  a 
series  of  luonograplis  on  the  live  pines  of  economic  importance  in  the  Southern  L'nited  States,  a 
result  of  many  years'  study  by  Dr.  Charles  Molir,  the  well-known  authority  on  the  botany  of  the 
Southern  States,  and  agent  of  the  Division  of  Forestry. 

The  first  draft  of  these  monographs  was  prepared  several  years  ago,  but  it  was  then  found 
that  in  order  to  make  them  fully  satisfactory  and  useful  to  the  practitioner  much  additional  infor- 
mation was  needed,  especially  regarding  the  rate  of  growth  and  other  sylvicultural  as  well  as 
technological  questions.  This  information  has  been  gradually  accumulated  as  our  facilities  have 
permitted.  The  extended  investigations  carried  on  in  this  division  may  be  considered  quite 
exhaustive,  at  least  in  regard  to  the  mechanical  properties  of  the  wood  of  the.se  pines.  An 
interesting  chapter  on  the  wood  structure  by  Mr.  Filibert  Eotli  has  been  added,  and  a  compar- 
ative study  of  the  economic,  sylvicultural,  and  technical  characteristics  and  value  of  the  pine.s 
under  consideration— a  resume,  as  it  were,  of  the  contents  of  the  monographs— is  to  be  found  in 
the  introduction  by  the  writer. 

Advantage  has  been  taken  of  the  opportunity  afforded  by  a  call  for  a  second  edition  to 
carefully  revise  the  text  of  the  monographs  and  record  in  additional  notes  results  of  new  investi- 
gations. 

During  the  early  summer  of  1897,  Mr.  Filibert  Eoth  made  an  exhaustive  study  of  several 
localities  in  the  territory  of  the  Southern  Pines,  and  his  observations,  so  far  as  they  supplement 
the  excellent  \^ork  of  Dr.  Mohi-,  are  embodied  in  brief  notes  at  the  end  of  each  monograph.  Mr. 
Eoth  has  also  contributed  a  short  sketch  of  the  Pond  Pine,  which  was  found  to  be  of  greater 
economic  importance  than  had  been  known. 

The  cordial  reception  which  was  accorded  this  bulletin,  and  the  large  demand  which  has 
made  this  second  edition  necessary,  are  a  source  of  great  gratification  to  those  interested  in  its 
preparation,  and  show  an  increasing  appreciation  of  the  great  economic  value  of  our  forest 
resources  on  the  part  of  the  public. 

The  pineries  of  the  South  furnish  now,  or  will  in  the  near  future,  the  most  important  staples 
of  our  lumber  industry.  According  as  they  are  treated,  carefully  or  wastefuUy,  they  will  continue 
for  a  longer  or  shorter  time  to  be  a  wealth-producing  resource  of  the  South.  To  aid  in  securing  a 
true  conception  of  the  extent,  condition,  and  value  of  this  resource,  and  of  the  nature,  development, 
and  characteristics  (botanical,  sylvicultural.  and  technological)  of  these  pines,  these  monographs 
have  been  written,  with  the  hope  of  inducing  rational  forestry  methods  in  their  use  and  reproduction. 
Respectfully, 

B.  E.  Fernow, 
Chief  of  Division, 

Hon.  James  Wilson, 

Secretiiry  of  Ayricidlure. 


CONTEXTS. 


Introdnctiou.     By  B.  E.  Feuxow 

Botanical  diagnosis  of  the  four  principal  pinus  occmiug  in  the  : 

Xoinenclatiire  of  Southern  pines.   

Characteristics  of  the  wood  of  Southern  pines 

Mechanical  properties 

Relation  of  strength  to  weight 


Weight  relations '^^^ ^'^ 

Distriliution  of  weight  and  strength  thro'ugliout  the  tree 15 

Effect  of  age 17 

Range  of  values  for  weight  and  strength 18 

Influence  of  locality '. 18 

Influence  of  moisture 19 

Weight  and  moisture 20 

Shrinkage 20 

Effect  of  "boxing,"  or  "bleeding'" 21 

Use  of  the  wood , 21 

Rate  of  gro w th 22 

Statistics  and  conclusions , 23 

The  Longleaf  Pino  (Pinna  pat uxtris  Miller).     By  Ch.vri.ks  .Mohu,  Ph.  D 27 

Introductory 29 

Historical 29 

Geographical  distribution 30 

Characteristics  of  distribution  in  difl'erent  regions 30 

Timber  regions — supply  and  production 31 

The  Atlantic  pine  region 3.1 

The  maritime  pine  belt  of  the  eastern  Half  region  . 3(5 

The  central  pine  belt  of  Alabama 41 

The  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  in  north  Alabama 11 

The  region  of  Longleaf  Pine  west  of  the  Mississippi 44 

Products If) 

Value  and  uses  of  the  wood 46 

Resinous  products  of  the  Longleaf  Pine 48 

Products  obtaiued  from  the  leaves  of  Longleaf  Pine 48 

Nomenclature  and  classification 48 

Botanical  description  and  morphology 48 

Root,  stem,  and  branch  system 49 

Leaves  and  their  modificalioiis 49 

Floral  organs 51 

Seeds 51 

The  wood 53 

Growth  and  development 55 

Conditions  of  development /  60 

Demands  upou  soil  and  climate liO 

Associated  species 61 

Enemies  61 

Exploitation 61 

Fires 62 

Live  stock 62 

Storms 62 

Fungi 63 

Insects 1 63 


b  CO>'TENTS. 

The  Longleaf  Pine  (PinMsjjn^Ksin's  Miller).     By  Ciiaiu.es  Mohu,  Ph.  I). — C'ontinueit.  ranc. 

Natural  reproduction 61 

Forest  management 64 

Conclusion 66 

Appendix.— The  naval  store  industry 67 

Kcsiii,  or  crude  turpentine 67 

Spirits  of  turpentine,  or  oil  of  turpentine (i7 

Rosiu,  or  colophony 6S 

Pine  tar 6S 

Common  pitch 68 

Historical  remarks 68 

Turpentine  orcharding  in  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine 69 

Distillation 70 

Cost  of  establishing  a  plant  and  working  the  crops 71 

Eftects  of  the  production  of  naval  stores  upon  the  timber,  the  life  of  the  tree,  and  the  conditions  of 

the  forest 71' 

Longleaf  Pine  in  highlands 7". 

Additional  notes  on  Longleaf  Pine.     By  Filihekt  Koth 74 

The  Cuban  Pino  {rinus  helero2)hylla  (Ell.)  Sudw.).     By  Ciiarlks  Mohr,  Ph.  1) 77 

Introductory 7Si 

Geographical  distribution ^ 7Si 

Products 80 

Resinous  jjrodncts 80 

Classification  and  nomenclature 80 

Description  and  morphological  characters 81 

Flowers 81 

The  wood 83 

Progress  of  development 8.i 

Requirements  for  development 88 

Soil 88 

Additional  notes  on  Cuban  Pine.     By  Filibert  Roth 89 

The  Shortleaf  Pine  (Phius  echiiiata  Miller).     By  Chaules  Moiir,  Ph.  D <ll 

Introductory 93 

Historical 93 

Geographical  distribution  9.3 

Characteristics  of  distribution  in  different  regions 94 

Products 99 

^omorclature  and  classification 99 

Botanical  desciip+>on 101 

Leaves 101 

Flowers 10 1 

Cones _. 103 

Seed  103 

The  wood 103 

Progress  of  development 104 

Conditions  of  development 107 

Soil  and  climate 107 

Relation  to  light  and  associated  species 108 

Enemies 108 

Forest  management 1 1 0 

Additional  notes  on  Shortleaf  Pine.     By  Filihert  Roth lU 

The  Loblolly  Pine  [riniia  tada  Linn.).     By  Charles  Mohr,  Ph.  D 113 

Introduction 115 

Historical ll,-. 

Geographical  distribution  and  economic  history lid 

Products 119 

Value  and  uses  of  the  wood 119 

Resinous  products 120 

Nomenclature  and  classification IL'I 

Botanical  description  and  morphology 121 

Root,  stem,  and  branch  system 121 

Leaves 123 

Floral  organs 123 

The  wood 125 

Progress  of  development 126 

Rate  of  growth 126 


CONTENTS.  7 

The  Loblolly  Pine  (Pinm  luda  Lhiu.)-     By  CllAHLEs  Moiiu,  Ph.  D.— Coutinued.  Page. 

Conditions  of  developmeut 129 

Soil  and  climate 129 

Relation  to  light  and  associated  species 130 

Enemies .' 130 

Natural  reproduction 131 

Conclusion 132 

Additional  notes  on  Loblolly  Pine.     By  Filibert  Roth 133 

The  Spruce  Pine  (Piiuis  glabra  Walt.).     By  Charles  Mohr,  Ph.  D 135 

Introductory 137 

Historical 137 

Distribution 137 

Economic  importance 137 

Botanical  description 138 

Progress  of  development 139 

Enemies 140 

Requirements  of  development 140 

Notes  on  the  structure  of  the  wood  of  live  Southern  pines  (I'iiiun  jxilittris,  heta-nphyUa,  echinata,  iada,  and 

glabra).     By  Filibert  Roth 141 

Sap  and  heartwood 143 

Annual  rings , 144 

Spring  and  summer  wood 146 

Grain  of  the  wood .' 148 

Miunte  anatomy 148 

Observations  on  the  Marsh  or  Pond  Pine  (/'iHws  S(TO</na).     By  Filibert  Roth 167 

Distribution 169 

Botanical  description 170 

Progress  of  development 170 

Economic  importance 171 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PLATES. 

Plate  I.  LongleafPine(P;"HSj)a7»3(Ws) Frontispiece. 

II."  Fig.  1.— Long-leaf  Pine  forest  in  Louisiana  Hats,  virgin,  scorched  l.y  lire,  as  usual;  Fig.  2.— 

Longleaf  Pine  forest  after  removal  of  merchantable  timber -" 

III.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Longleaf  Pine  and  Cuban  Pine 30 

IV.  Piiiiis  palustiis,  bud  and  leaf ^" 

V.   Piiiun  paluslris,  male  and  female  flowers  '■'- 

VI.  Pinut  iialustriK,  cone  and  seed •^■' 

VII.   Pinm  paJmtiU,  seedlings  and  young  plant   ^-^ 

VIII.  Turpentine  orcharding  in  Louisiana - ^^ 

IX.  Ci?ban  pine  flatwoods  of  Florida " 

X.  Pinus  UeterophiilUi,  male  and  female  flowers *- 

XL   PUnis  heiei-ophyllii,  cone  and  seed **' 

XIL  Shortleaf  Pine  {Phitis  echinnta),  forest  grown  specimens  in  Missouri 91 

XIII.  Shortleaf  Pine  (/•;»«»  echiiiata),  a  roadside  specimen  in  North  Carolina 'J- 

XIV.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Shortleaf  Pine -'r! 

XV.   Phi  us  (chiiiitta  seedling;  male  and  female  (lower,  and  leaf  sections 100 

XVI.  i'i/.Jts  irhiiKita  cone,  seed,  and  leaves 10- 

XVII.  Loblolly  Piiii'i /■;/.».  hidu) n:.! 

XVIII.  Mapshowin.^  .listiiljiition  of  Loblolly  Pine 11« 

XIX.  Pinus  tiiilii.  liialr  ilowris  and  leaves -. 1-- 

XX.   Piuus  tdiUi,  feuiuli!  llowers,  cone,  and  seed 1-^ 

XXI.  Typical  cross  sections  of  Piiins  taida,  heterophijlla,  and  f/laira 151 

XXII.  Typical  cross  sections  of  Phius  palustris  and  echinata,  and  radial  sections  of  Pinus  palnsiris  and 

ghibra 1^6 

XXIII.  Radial  sections  o(  Pimis  echinala  and  keterophijlla loi^ 

XXIV.  Radial  sections  of  P.i/hs  Uvda  and  tangential  sections  of  Pinus  palustris  and  ivliiuala IGO 

XXV.  Tangential  sections  of  Pinus  Uedn,  heleniphi/Uii,  and  i/labni Ifi2 

XXVI.  Tangential  sections  of  Pinus  ichinata.  heierophylla,  and  yUilira,  showing  number  and  distribution 

of  pith  rays  and  jiroportiou  of  pithray  cells 1''' 

XXVII.  Transverse  resin  ducts— tangential  views  l*^'*" 

FIGURES. 

Fig.    1.  Diagram  showing  variation  of  weight  with  height  of  tree 1'' 

2.  Schematic  section  through  stem  of  Longleaf  Pine,  showing  variation  of  specilic  weight  with  height, 

diameter,  and  age  at  20  {ahn ),  60  (rfcrf),  120  (ceec ),  and  200  UJfJ')  years H 

3.  Diagram  showing  variation  of  compression  strength  with  nioisture 10 

4.  Diagram  showing  loss  of  water  in  kiln  drying  and  reabsorption  in  air,  shrinking  and  swelling 20 

5.  Diagram  showing  comparative  progress  of  height  growth  in  average  trees 22 

6.  Diagram  showing  comparative  progress  of  diameter  growth  in  average  trees 23 

7.  Diagram  showing  comparative  progress  of  volume  growth  in  average  trees 24 

8.  Growth  of  Longleaf  Pino  in  height,  diameter,  and  volume CO 

9.  Tools  used  in  turpentine  orcharding - '^ 

10.  Improved  method  of  turpentine  orcharding '1 

11.  Growthof  .Shortleaf  Pine ^07 

12.  Growth  of  Loblolly  Pine 1-'' 

13.  Variation  of  suiumerwood  per  cent  irom  pith  to  bark 1^6 

14.  Variation  of  specific  gravity  with  summerwood  per  cent  and  age  of  section 1^7 

15.  Variation  of  summerwood  per  cent  with  rate  of  growth  (width  of  ring) 1^8 

16.  Schematic  representation  of  coniferous  wood  structure 1^9 

17.  Cell  endings  in  pine _' 

18.  Cross  section  of  normal  and  stunted  growth !•* 


TIMBER  PINES  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  UNITED  STATES. 


INTRODUCTION. 

In  ignorance  of  tlie  nature  and  without  appreciation  of  the  economic  value  of  their  resources, 
pioneers  sijuander  and  destroy  without  regard  to  the  future  the  riches  they  find.  We  have  done 
so  in  the  United  States  and  are  continuing  to  do  so  althougli  the  i)ioneering  stage  should  have 
been  passed,  especially  with  our  forest  resources.  We  have  exploited  them  as  if  they  were  mines, 
instead  of  crops  which  can  be  harvested  and  reproduced  continuously,  and  we  have  done  so  iu  a 
most  wasteful  manner;  nay,  we  have  by  irrational  methods  of  exploitation,  no  doubt  due  in  part 
to  the  necessities  of  a  rayidly  developing  country,  in  many  cases  destroyed  the  conditions  for 
natural  reproduction  of  the  more  valuable  timber  species.  Fire  and  indiscriminate  pasturing  have 
also  assisted  in  the  process  of  deterioration. 

We  are  just  beginning  to  realize  that  our  timber  sujjplies  are  not  unlimited;  that  our 
magnificent  forest  .resources  have  been  despoiled  and  need  at  least  more  consideration;  that 
sooner  or  later  forestry  will  become,  nay,  is  now,  a  necessity. 

Forestry  is  the  art  of  producing,  managing,  and  harvesting  wood  crops.  To  be  successful  iu 
this  art  it  is  of  course  necessary  to  understand  the  nature  of  the  crop— to  be  acquainted  with  the 
life  history,  the  conditions  of  development  required  by  each  species  of  tree  composing  the  crop. 
Such  knowledge  can  be  in  part,  at  least,  derived  from  observations  made  in  the  natural  forests, 
and  from  these  observations  the  manner  in  which  the  different  species  should  be  treated  and  rules 
of  management  may  be  determined. 

The  time  for  the  application  of  forestry — that  is,  rational  methods  of  treating  the  wood  crop — 
has  not,  as  many  seem  to  suppose,  come  only  when  the  natural  forest  growths  have  been  despoiled 
am.  deteriorated.  On  the  contrary,  when  the  ax  is  for  the  first  time  applied,  then  is  the  time  for 
the  application  of  forestry,  for  it  is  possible  so  to  cut  the  original  natural  forest  crop  that  it  can 
reproduce  itself  iu  a  superior  manner.  The  judicious  and  systematic  use  of  the  ax  alone,  in  the 
hands  of  the  forester,  will  secure  this  result. 

Hence  these  monographs  on  the  life  history  of  the  Southern  pines  have  been  written  primarily 
to  enable  the  owners  of  Southern  pineries,  who  are  now  engaged  iu  exploiting  them,  to  so  modify 
their  treatment  of  the  same  as  to  insure  continued  reproduction  instead  of  complete  exhaustion, 
which  is  tlireatened  under  present  methods. 

The  pines  are  the  most  important  timber  trees  of  the  world.  They  attain  this  importance 
from  a  combination  of  properties.  In  the  first  place,  they  possess  such  qualities  of  strength  and 
elasticity,  combined  with  comparatively  light  weight  and  ease  of  working,  as  to  fit  them  specially 
for  use  in  construction  which  requires  the  largest  amount  of  wood;  next,  they  occur  as  forests  in 
the  temperate  zones,  often  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other  sjiecies,  so  that  their  exploitation  is 
made  ea.sy  and  profitable;  thirdly,  they  are  readily  reproduced  and  tolerably  quick  growers;  and, 
lastly,  they  occupy  the  poorest  soils,  producing  valuable  crops  from  the  dry  sands,  and  hence  are 
of  the  greatest  value  from  the  standpoint  of  national  economy. 

The  Southern  States  abound  in  those  sandy  soils  which  are  the  home  of  the  pine  tribes  and 
were  once  covered  with  seemingV,v  boundless  forests  of  the  same.  There  are  still  large  areas 
untouched,  yet  the  greater  portion  of  the  primeval  forest  has  not  only  been  culled  of  its  best 
timber,  but  the  repeated  contiagrations  which  follow  the  lumbering,  and,  still  more  disastrously 
the  turpentine  gatherers"  operations,  have  destroyed  not  only  the  remainder  of  the  original  growth^ 
but  the  vegetable  mold  and  the  young  aftergrowth,  leaving  thousands  of  sijuare  miles  as  blackened 
wastes,  devoid  of  usefulness,  and  reducing  by  so  much  the  potential  wealth  of  the  South. 

There  are,  in  general,  four  belts  of  pine  forests  of  difl'erent  types  recognizable,  their  boundaries 
running  in  general  direction  somewhat  parallel  to  the  coast  line:  (1)  The  coast  plain,  or  pine-barren 
flats,  within  the  tidewater  region,  10  to  30  miles  wide,  once  occupied  mainly  by  the  most  valuable 

n 


12 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES 


ofSoutbern  timbers,  the  Longleaf  Piue,  now  being-  replaced  by  Cuban  and  Loblolly  pines;  (2)  the 
rolling  pine  hills,  or  pine  barrens  jjroper,  with  a  width  of  50  to  120  miles,  the  true  home  of  the 
Longleaf  Pine,  which  occupies  it  almost  by  itself;  (3)  the  belt  of  mixed  growth  of  20  to  00  miles  in 
width,  in  which  the  Longleaf  Pine  loses  its  predominance,  the  Shortleaf,  the  Loblolly,  and  the  hard 
woods  associating  and  disputing  territory  with  it;  and  (4)  the  Shortleaf  Pine  belt,  where  the 
species  predominates  on  the  sandy  soils,  the  Longleaf  being  entirely  absent  and  the  Loblolly  only  a 
feeble  competitor,  hard  woods  being  interspersed  or  occupying  the  better  sites.  Within  the  terri- 
tory the  species  that  occur  occupy  different  situations.  Thus  the  Cuban,  which  accompanies  the 
Longleaf,  usually  occupies  the  less  well-drained  situations,  together  with  the  Loblolly,  which, 
although  it  can  accommodate  itself  to  all  soils,  reaches  its  best  development  in  the  rich  lowlands 
and  is  specially  well  developed  in  the  flat  woods  which  border  the  coast  marshes  of  eastern  Texas; 
wliere  it  associates  with  the  Shortleaf  Piue  it  also  seeks  the  moister  situation. 

The  Longleaf  and  Shortleaf  pines  are,  in  quantity  and  quality  combined,  the  most  important, 
while  the  Loblolly  or  Oldtield  Pine,  as  yet  not  fully  appreciated,  comes  next,  occupying  large  areas. 
The  Cuban  Pine,  usually  known  as  Slash  Piue — always  cut  and  sold  without  distinction  with  the 
Longleaf  Piue — a  tree  of  as  fine  quality  and  of  more  rapid  growth  than  the  Longleaf  Pine,  is  associ- 
ated with  the  latter  in  the  coast  pine  belt,  scattered  in  single  individuals  or  groups,  but  appears  to 
increase  in  greater  proportion  in  the  young  growth,  being  by  its  manner  of  development  in  early 
life  better  fitted  to  escape  the  dangers  to  which  the  aftergrowth  is  exposed. 

Besides  these  four  most  important  pines,  the  botanical  distinctions  of  which  appear  in  the 
table  below,  there  are  a  luimber  of  others  of  less  significance.  The  White  Pine  (IHniis  strobus)  of 
the  North  extends  its  reign  along  the  higher  mountain  regions  of  North  Carolina  into  Georgia, 
forming  a  valuable  timber  tree,  but  of  small  extent.  The  Spruce  Pine,  to  which  a  short  chapter 
is  devoted  in  this  bulletin,  develops  into  timber  size,  but  is  found  only  in  small  quantities  and 
mostly  scattered,  and  has  therefore  as  yet  not  received  attention  in  lumber  markets;  but  its 
qualities,  and  especially  its  forestal  value,  being  a  pine  which  endures  shade,  will  probably  be 
ajipreciated  in  the  future. 

Since  the  publication  of  the  first  edition  of  this  bulletin  the  Pond  Pine  has  unexpectedly  been 
found  to  furnish  not  inconsiderable  quantities  of  timber  (see  j).  109).  The  Scrub  IMne  {Piints 
vinjiniana)  furnishes  only  firewood. 

BOTANICAL   DIAGNOSIS   OF  THE  FOUR  PRINCIPAL  PINES   OCCURRING  IN  THE   SOUTHERN   STATES. 


Species. 

PlnuspalustrU  mWev. 

Phius  heterophylUt  (Ell.)  Sudw. 

Leives 

Three  in  a  bundle,  9  to  12  (exceptionally  14  to  15)  inches  Ion-. 

6  to  9  inches  long,  4i  to  5  inches  in  diameter 

Seven-eighths  to  1  inch  broad;  tips  much  wrinlded;  light 

chestnut-brown ;  gray  with  age. 
Very  short,  delicate,  incurved 

Three-fourths  inch  long,  one-half  inch, in  diameter;  silver 
white. 

Two  and  three  in  a  bundle,  7  to  12  (asually  9  to  10)  inches 

long. 
4  fo  (ii  lusii;illv  4  t<.  ,-.1  iuoh.-s  long.  3  to43  inchesin  di;imcter. 

KI.A.n-i., ■     i.i      .  i,n-(-ighth8      incli     Imiad ;      tips 

unnkL.i iM«„:  shiny. 

-\l.,.iil    M,,,   l,,,,i    :n,i,  ,,-,,_, 'oiJe-Cuurtli    inch  in    diami-t.r; 
bn,«in-li. 

Cones (open) 

Scales  

Species. 

Pimis  eehinata  Miller. 

Firms  tceda  Linn. 

Leaves 

Two  and  three  in  a  bundle,  18  to  4  inches  long,  commonly 
2i  to  4  inches. 

Three  in  a  bundle,  5  to  8  inches  long. 

2*  to  4J  indies  long;  1}  to  3  inches  in  diameter. 
Tlireecigliths  to  three-fourths  inch  bread;  tips  smooth;  dull 

yellow  l.ruwn. 
Short;  stout  at  base. 

One-halr  to  three-fourths  inch  long,  one-fourth  inili  in  di- 
ameter; brownish. 

Cnm.s(open) 

Scales 

Priiklcs 

Buds 

Fivesixteenths  to  three-eighths  (exceptionally  about  one- 
half)  inch  broad;  tips  light  yellow-brown. 
Exceedingly  short  (one-tenth inch) i  delicate;  straight;  <le- 

Threeei'ghths  to  one  half  inch  long,  about  one-eighth  inch 
in  diameter;  brownish. 

The  greatest  confusion  exists  with  regard  to  the  vernacular  names  of  these  pines,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  information  regarding  them,  given  by  the  native  population,  must  always  be 
carefully  scrutinized  to  determine  exactly  to  what  species  it  refers.  Even  in  the  lumber  market 
and  among  wood  consumers,  engineers,  architects,  and  carpenters  the  same  confusion  exists; 
Longleaf  and  Cuban  pines  are  never  distinguished;  Shortleaf  and  Loblolly  pines  are  mixed  indis- 
criminately, and  often  "  Southern  Pine,"  or  "  Yellow  Southern  Piue,"  satisfies  the  specification  of 
the  architect  and  may  come  from  any  of  the  four  species. 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF    THE    WOOD    OF    SOUTHERN    PINES. 


13 


Ti)  assist  in  clearing  this  confusion  the  following  synopsis  of  botaniciil  and  vernacular  names 
is  here  inserted: 

NOJIENCLATUEE    OF    SOUTHERN   PINES. 


Southern  Tellow  Pine. 
Sontlicni  Har.l  Pine. 
Soullu-rn  Heart  Pine. 
Soutliern  IMtch  Pine. 
Hani  Pine  (Miss.,  La.). 
Heart  I'iue  (N.  C.  and  Soulli 


i".  riiiida  Purclier. 

SHORTLEAF  PISE. 


Yellow  Pine  (K.C.Ya.). 
Shortleaved  Yellow  Pine, 
Siiortleaved  Pine. 
Virginia   Yellow    Pino  I 
part) 


Nortli     Carolina    Pine 

part). 
Carolina  Pine  (in  part) 


Florida  Pine. 
Florida  Lon^lf 
Texas  Yellow 
Texas  Lon-jlea 


ived  Pine. 
:ed  Pine. 


Finns  Ueda  Linn. 
Syn. :  Pinua  tceda  var.  ( 
nui/oUa  Alton. 


Shortleaved  Pino  (Va  ,  N. 


.N.C.). 

C). 

,N.C., 


Pinus-    heteroplnjlla      (] 
Sudw. 

Syn.:  Pinuxtada  var.) 
ropliyUa  Ell. 
P.eHtoftt  Engcln 


Slash  Pine  (Ga..  Fla.). 
Swamp  Pine  (Fla.  and  Ala.) 

in  part. 
Bastard  Pine  (Fla.,  Ala.). 
'  MeadowPine(FIa.,E.Miss.) 

She  Pitcii  Pine  (Ga.). 


While  it  is  ea.sy  enousli  to  recognize  the  species  in  the  field  by  their  botanical  characters,  it 
is  difficult  and  often  im|)ossible  to  distinguish  them  in  the  wood  by  mere  macroscopic  inspection 
or  examination  with  the  niagnilier  and  without  the  aid  of  the  microscope,  uor  are  the  microscopic 
features  so  far  recognized  sufficient  for  specific  distinction. 

A  long  continued  study  of  these  woods  by  Mr.  Filibert  Eoth,  of  the  Division  of  Forestry, 
has  not  developed  any  characteiistics  which  woukl  be  always  reliable  in  distinguishing  the  species. 
The  best  that  can  be  done  is  to  give  a  synopsis  of  characters,  by  which  they  differ  generally  when 
larger  quantities,  as  in  the  log  or  lumber  pile,  are  under  inspection. 

OHABACTERISTICS   OF    THE   WOOD   OP    SOUTHERN   PINES. 
Diagnostie  features  of  the  wood. 


kiln-dried  wood.  , 
Weight,  pounds   per   cubic   foot,  kiln-dried 

wtMid,  average. 
Cliaractcc  of  grain  seen  in  cross  section. 


Color,  general  appearance  . 

Sapwood,  proportion 

Kcsin 


Variable   .ind    coarse;    rings    mostly    wide, 
avera-riiiff  on  larger  logs  10  to  20  rings  to  the 

I)a^k^tl,l  .  inii  >■  II  h  liii^e  of  flesh  color. 
Bro:id,     1 

Abuiiii    I           I  i,-Uling  more  pitch 

than  ln:,_.:  ,:  M,. ,,!,■■  freely,  yielding 

little  .-,11. .lie. 


Cha; 


■voud. 


pounds    per   cubic    foot,    Isiln-drieil 
iiverage. 
r  of  grain  seen  in  cross  section 


y  variable:  medium  coarse;  rings  'n 
jar  heart,  followed  by  zone  of  nar: 
ngs:  not  less  than  4  (mostly  about  li 
i      15)  rings  to  the  inch,  hut  often  very  t 

Color,  general  appearance "WTiitish  to  reddish-brown 

Sapwood,  proportion I  Commonly  over  4  inches  of  radius 

Kesin I  iloilerately  abundant,  least  pitchy ;  only  r 

stumps,  knots,  and  limbs.  i 


Yellowish  to  reddish  and  orange  brown. 
Very  variable.  '^  to  6  inches  of  the  radius. 
Abundant;    more  than  Shortleaf,  less  than 
Lougleaf  and  Cuban. 


14 


TIMBliK    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


It  is  clear  from  the  above  diagnosis  that  Longleaf  IMue  may  be  distiuguished  from  Cuban  Pme 
by  its  liner  grain  and  small  amount  of  sapwood ;  also  that  both  of  these  differ  from  the  Shortleaf 
and  Loblolly  in  their  gieater  weight  and  the  more  resinous  character  of  their  wood,  but  that  the 
wood  of  the  two  last-named  species  is  rarely  distinguishable  beyond  doubt. 

Technically  the  wood  of  the  pines  differs  about  as  follows :  The  wood  of  the  Longleaf  and  Cuban 
pines  are  about  equal  in  strength,  Longleaf  excelling  by  its  finer  grain  and  smaller  amount  of 
sapwood.  The  same  comparison  may  be  made  with  regard  to  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf  Pine.  Being 
much  more  variable,  however,  in  weight  and  grain,  exceptions  to  the  general  rule  here  are  very 
numerous.  Of  the  last-named  species  it  may  be  said  that  the  wood  derived  from  more  southern 
localities  is  generally  heavier  and  stronger  than  northern  grown — a  fact  especially  apparent  in 
the  case  of  the  Shortleaf  Pine. 

The  extensive  investigations  carried  on  l)y  the  Division  of  Forestry  during  the  last  three  to 
four  years  mainly  on  these  pines  permit  us  to  give  the  following  rusumc^  of  their  mechanical 
properties  derived  from  not  less  than  20,000  tests  and  as  many  measurements  and  weighings. 
We  quote  this  information  Irom  Circular  12  of  the  division : 

JIECHANIOAL    PROl'EUTIES. 

In  general  the  wood  of  all  these  pines  is  heavy  for  pine  (31  to  -10  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  when 
dry),  soft  to  moderately  hard  (hard  for  pine),  requiring  about  1,000  pounds  per  square  inch  to  indent 
one-twentieth  inch;  stiff',  the  modulus  of  elasticity  being  from  1,500,000  upward;  strong,  requiring 
from  7,000  pounds  per  square  inch  and  upward  to  break  in  bending  and  over  5,000  pounds  in 
compression  when  yard-dry. 

The  values  here  given  are  averages  based  on  a  large  number  of  tests  fiom  which  only  defective 
pieces  are  excluded. 

In  all  cases  where  the  contrary  is  not  stated  the  weight  of  the  wood  refers  to  kiln-dried 
material  and  the  strength  to  wood  containing  15  per  cent  moisture,  which  may  be  conceived  as 
just  on  the  border  of  air-dried  condition.  The  first  table  gives  fairly  well  the  range  of  strength  of 
commercial  timber. 

Jverage  sireiigih  of  Southern  Pine. 
[Air-dry  material  (about  15  per  cent  moisture).] 


Compre.ssion  strength. 

Bending  strength. 

.5 

g 
g 

s 

I 

.a 
f 

1 

5 

With  grain. 

Across 

(fpe'r 

in'deuta- 

"s^'iiare"' 

At  rupture 
modulus  1^'. 

1 

At  elastic'  Elasticity 

limit      1  (stillness) 

modulus      modulus 

3  W,i           3  W!3 

rm  \   TESh^ 

per  square  persq^uare 

Selative 

1 

Name. 

Average  of  all 
valid  tests. 

Average 
for  tlie  weakest 

one-tenth 
ofall  the  tests. 

1       Average 
Average  of  all    for  the  weakest 
valid  tests.            one-tenth 

of  all  the  tests. 

1^ 

cl£ 

inch. 

f 

Absolut*, 
per 

Rela- 
tive. 

Absolute, 

per        Eela- 
sjiuare     tive. 

Absolute, 
per 

Kela-^^^pr^-Kela- 

tive.      square   ,  live. 

;     inch. 

1 

Cuban  Pine.... 
Longleaf  Pine  . 
Loblolly  Pine.. 
Shortleaf  Pine. 

rounds. 
7,S50 
6,850 
6,500 
5,900 

100 
87 
83 
75 

Pounds. 

6,500  1     100 
5,650  ]       87 
5,3ijl'         82 
4,800         74 

Fmmds. 

1,050 

1,060 

990 

040 

Pounds. 
11,950 
10.  900 
10,100 
9,230 

Pounds. 
100           8,750 
91            8,800 
84  I         8, 100 
77  \         7,000 

100 
101 
92 
80 

Pounds. 
9,450 
8,500 
8,150 
7,200 

Pounds. 
2, 305,  COO 
i;890;000 
1,950,000 
1,  600,  000 

Pounds. 
2.5 

2;  25 
2.05 

Lbs.      Lbs. 
14. 300         680 
15, 200         706 
14.400         690 
13, 400         688 

RELATION    OF    STRENGTH    TO    WEIGHT. 


The  intimate  relation  of  strength  and  specific  weight  has  been  well  established  by  the  experl- 
lents.    The  average  results  obtained  in  connection  with  the  tests  themselves  were  as  follows: 


Cuban. 

Longleaf.     Loblolly. 

Shortleaf. 

Transverse  stren  'tU 

100 
100 

91                  »1 

94,                 S2 

77 
77 

WEIGHT    RELATIONS. 


15 


Since,  in  the  determination  of  the  specific  gravity  above  given,  wood  of  the  same  per  cent  of 
moistnre  (as  is  the  case  in  the  values  of  strength)  was  not  always  involved,  and  also  since  the  test 
pieces,  owing  to  size  and  shape,  can  not  perfectly  represent  the  wood  of  the  entire  stem,  the 
following  results  of  a  special  inquiry  into  the  weight  of  the  wood  represents  probably  more 
accurately  the  weight  and  with  it  the  strength  relations  of  the  four  species. 


/rhese  data  refer  to  the  average  spccitic 


WEIGHT    RELATIONS. 
'  all  the  wood  of  each  tree,  onl.v  tl 


f  approximately  the  same  age  being  involved.] 


Cuban. 

Longleaf. 

Loblolly. 

Shortleaf. 

NuS.^^II^^iv^;::::::;::;:;;::;:^';!!!;; 

171 
6 

0.63 
39 

ion 

,100, 

127 
22 
0.61 

^9? 
(91) 

137 

0.53 
33 
84 
(84) 

131 

10 

81 
(77, 

Weight  per  cu\.ic  foot pounds.. 

Eelativo  weight 

From  these  results,  although  slightly  at  variance,  we  are  justified  in  concluding  that  Cuban 
and  Longleaf  Pine  are  nearly  alike  in  strength  and  weight  and  excel  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf  by 
about  20  per  cent.  Of  these  latter,  contrary  to  common  belief,  the  Loblolly  is  the  heavier  and 
stronger. 

The  weakest  material  would  dift'er  from  the  average  material  in  transverse  strength  by  about 
20  per  cent,  and  in  compression  strength  by  about  30  to  35  per  cent,  except  Cuban  Tine,  for  which 
the  diflerence  appears  greater  in  transverse  and  smaller  in  compression  strength.  It  must,  of 
course,  not  be  overlooked  that  these  figures  are  obtained  from  full-grown  trees  of  the  virgin  forest, 
that  strength  varies  with  physical  conditions  of  the  material,  and  that  tberefore  an  intelligent 
iiisi)ection  of  the  stick  is  always  necessary  before  applying  the  values  in  practice.  They  can  only 
represent  the  average  conditions  for  a  large  amount  of  material. 


DISTKIBCTION  OF  WEIGHT  AND  STRENGTH  THROUGHOUT 
U'ciyht  and  strength  of  wood  at  different  heiyhts  in  the  tree. 


Strength  of  Longleaf 
Pine    (pounds     per 
square  inch). 

Specific  weight. 

Mean  of  all 

Relative 
strength  of 
Lon.'leaf 

Bending 

strength. 

Compres- 
sion 

endwise 
(with 
grain). 

Longleaf.      Loblolly. 

Shortleaf. 

(relative         "J™?^; 

weight,.       P--- 

bending,. 

56 

22                  14 

127                  113 

'l2 

48 

56 



Number  of  feet  from  atanip : 

.751 
lOG 
.705 
100 
.674 
96 
.624 
89 
.590 

.560 

80 

.539 

.528 
75 

.629 
296- 

.596 
100 

.578 

.534 

90 

.508 

.491 
83 

.476 
80 

.470 
79 

7,350 

100 

7,200 

6,800 
9i 

6,300 
86 

m 

.585 
100 
.565 

.513^ 

m 

.490 

.472 
•     SJ 
.455 
78 
.454 
78 

100 
100 

:n 

90 
85 
81 

77 

6 

12, 100 

11,650 

90 

10,  700 

10,1^5 

9,500 

9,000 

100 
97 
90 

79 
76 

20 

30 

50 

11 

ss 

XoTE.— Relative  values  arc  indicated  by  italic  flgu 


16 


TIM15ER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


Ill  any  one  tree  the  wood  is  lighter  and  weaker  as  we  pass  from  the  base  to  the  top.  This  is 
true  of  everj-  tree  and  of  all  four  species.  The  decrease  in  weight  and  streiis'tli  is  most  prououuced 
in  the  first  20  feet  from  the  stump  and  grows  smaller  upward.     (See  lig.  1.) 


49.6 


Feet  frOTti  Stump. 

This  great  difference  in  weight  and  strength  between  butt  and  top  finds  explanation  in  the 
relative  width  of  the  summerwood.  Since  the  specific  weight  of  the  dark  summerwood  band  in 
each  ling  is  in  thrifty  growth  fiom  0.90  to  1,  while  that  of  the  siu'ingwood  is  only  about  0.40,  the 
relative  amount  of  summerwood  furnishes  altogether  the  most  delicate  and  accurate  measure  of 
these  differences  of  weight  as  well  as  strength,  and  hence  is  the  surest  criterion  for  ocular  iusi)ection 
of  quality,  especially  since  this  relation  is  free  from  the  disturbing  influence  of  both  resin  and 
moisture  contents  of  the  wood,  so  conspicnous  in  weight  determinations. 

The  following  figures  show  the  distribution  of  the  summerwood  iu  a  single  tree  of  Longleaf 
Pine,  as  an  examjjle  of  this  relation: 


In  the  10 
ringa  next 
to  the  bark. 

In  the  10  1 
rings  Nos.^vsrogo  for 

100  to  110  iTutllediak. 
from  bark. : 

Specific 
weight. 

. 

Percent. 
37 
25 
15 

Per«„.|P»rc^«.^i           ^  ^^ 

^ 

37  '                  20  '               .55 

EFFECT    OF   AGE.  17 

Logs  froiii  t1io  to])  fan  usually  be  recognized  by  the  larger  percentage  of  sapwood  and  the 
smaller  pro))i)rtion  and  more  legular  outlines  of  the  bands  of  suninierwood,  which  are  more  or  less 
wavy  in  the  butt  logs. 

Both  weight  and  strength  vary  in  the  different 
parts  of  the  same  cross  sectiou  from  center  to  periph- 
ery, and  though  the  variatious  appear  frequently 
irregular  in  single  individuals,  a  definite  law  of  rela- 
tion is  7ieverthelessdisceiniblein  large  averages,  and 
once  determined  is  readily  observable  in  every  tree. 

A  separate  inquiiy,  avoiding  the  many  variables 
which  enter  into  the  mechanical  tests,  permits  the  fol- 
lowing deductions  for  the  wood  of  tliese  pines,  and 
especially  for  Longleaf;  the  data  referring  to  weight, 
but  by  inference  also  to  strength: 

1.  The  variation  is  greatest  iu  the  butt  log  (the 
heaviest  part)  and  least  iu  the  top  logs. 

2.  The  variation  in  weight,  he^lce  also  in  strength, 
from  center  to  jieripheiy  depends  on  the  rate  of 
growth,  the  heavier,  stronger  wood  being  formed  dur- 
ing the  period  of  most  ra|)id  growth,  lighter  and 
weaker  wood  in  old  age. 

3.  Aberrations  from  the  normal  growth,  due  to 
unusual  seasons  and  other  disturbing  causes,  cloud 
the  uniformity  of  the  law  of  variation,  thus  occasion- 
ally leading  to  the  foiniation  of  heavier,  broad-ringed 
wood  in  old,  and  lighter  narrow-ringed  wood  in  young 
trees. 

4.  Slow-growing  trees  (with  narrow  rings)  do  not 
make  less-  heavy,  nor  heavier  wood  than  thriftily 
grown  trees  (with  wide  rings)  of  the  same  age.  (See 
fig.  2.) 

EFFECT    OF    ACiE. 

The  interior  of  the  butt  log,  representing  the 
young  sapling  of  less  than  fifteen  or  twenty  years  of 
age,  and  the  central  portion  of  all  logs  containing 
the  pith  and  two  to  five  rings  adjoining,  is  always 
light  and  weak. 

The  heaviest  wood  iu  Longleaf  and  Cuban  Pine  is 
formed  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years,  with  a  specific  weight  of  over  (t.OO 
and  a  maximum  of  0.66  to_0.68,  between  the  ages  of 
forty  and  sixty  years.  The  wood  formed  at  the  age 
of  about  one  hundred  years  will  have  a  specific 
weight  of  0.02  to  O.fJ'J,  which  is  also  the  average 
weight  for  the  entire  wood  of  old  trees;  the  wood 
formed  alter  this  age  is  lighter  but  does  not  fall  below 
0.r)0  up  to  the  two  hundredth  year:  the  strength 
varies  in  the  same  ratio. 

In  the  shorter-lived  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf  the 
period  for  the  formation  of  t'  e  heaviest  wood  is 
between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  eighty,  the  average  weight  then  being  over  0.50,  with  a  maximum 
of  0.57  at  the  age  of  thirty  to  forty.    The  average  weight  for  old  trees  (0.51  to  0.52)  lies  about  the 
seventy-fifth  year,  the  weight  then  falling  off"  to  about  0.45  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  forty, 
and  continuing  to  decrease  to  below  0.3S,  as  the  trees  grow  older. 
25006— No.  13—02 2 


'■  W/!/ZOA/rAi  ^///^///V. 
i.  2 — Schematic  section  through  stem  of  Longltaf  I' 
luivviiig  variation  of  specific  weight  with  height,  diame 
lul  age  at  twenty  (aio),  sixty  (dcd),  one  hundred  and  twe 
nee),  and  two  hundred  (fj'fS)  years. 


18 


TIMBER   FINES   OF   THE    SOUTHERN   UNITED    STATES. 


That  these  statements  refer  only  to  the  clear  portions  of  each  log,  and  are  variably  affected 
at  each  whorl  of  knots  (every  10  to  30  inches)  according  to  their  size,  and  also  by  the  variable 
amounts  of  resin  (up  to  20  per  cent  of  the  dry  weight),  must  be  self-evident. 

Sapwood  is  not  necessarily  weaker  than  heartwood,  only  usually  the  sapwood  of  tlie  large- 
sized  trees  we  are  now  using  is  represented  by  the  narrow  ringed  outer  part,  which  was  formed 
during  the  old-age  period  of  growth,  when  naturally  lighter  and  weaker  wood  is  made;  but  the 
wood  formed  during  the  more  thrifty  diameter  growth  of  the  first  eighty  to  one  hundred  years — 
sapwood  at  the  time,  changed  into  heartwood  later — was  even  as  sapwood  the  heaviest  and 
strongest. 

KANGE  OF  VALUES  FOR  WEIGHT  AND  STRENGTH. 

Although  the  range  of  values  for  the  individual  tree  of  any  given  species  varies  from  butt  to 
top,  and  from  center  to  periphery  by  15  to  -*5  per  cent,  and  occasionally  more,  the  deviation  from 
average  values  from  one  individual  to  another  is  not  usually  as  great  as  has  been  believed;  thus, 
of  56  trees  of  Longleaf  Pine,  42  trees  varied  in  their  average  strength  by  less  than  10  per  cent 
from  the  average  of  all  56. 

The  following  table  of  weight  (which  is  a  direct  and  fair  indication  of  strength),  representing 
all  the  wood  of  the  stem  and  excluding  knots  and  other  defects,  gives  a  more  ijerfect  idea  of  the 
range  of  these  values: 

X    Jinnye  of  specific  weiyhl  willi  age  (kilii-drled  tvood). 
[To  avoiil  fractions  the  values  are  multiplieil  by  100,] 


Cuban. 

Longleaf. 

Loblolly. 

Shortleaf. 

24 

61 
63 

96 

57 

59 

60.5 

62 

61 

55 

60 

56 

Trees  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  years  old. . . . 

50 

53.4 
53 

iS 

51 
55 
57 
53 

61 
55 
51 

Though  occasionally  some  very  exceptional  trees  occur,  especially  in  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf,  the 
range  on  the  whole  is  generally  within  remarkably  narrow  limits,  as  appears  from  the  following 
table : 

Itanye  of  specific  weight  in  trees  of  the  same  age  approximately;  averages  for  whole  trees. 
[Specflc  gravity  multiplied  by  100  to  avoid  fractions.] 


Name. 

Number         Age, 
oftrees.  1      years. 

Single  trees. 

Average. 

Cuban  Pine 

!    J 
S 

150-200 
50-100 
100-150 
125-150 
100-150 

56     68 
60     58 
59     66 
51     51 
45  ;  47 

62     65 

1        1 

62.5 
60.9 
60.5 
52.8 
50.8 

60     59 
.57     62 
53     51 
53     47 

.::::::: 

66     58 
55     53 
50     51 

55 

67  'S* 
55     5S 
55     53 

66  ;  59  1  62 

52  '•        ' 

57 

Loblollv  Piue 

Shortleaf  Pine 

51     50  i  63 

From  this  table  it  would  appear  that  single  individuals  of  one  species  would  approximate 
single  individuals  of  another  species  so  closely  that  the  weight  distinction  seems  to  fail,  but  in 
large  numbers — for  instance,  carloads  of  material — the  averages  above  given  will  prevail. 

INFLUENCE   OF   LOCALITY. 

In  both  the  Cuban  and  Longleaf  Pine  the  locality  wliere  grown  appears  to  have  but  little 
influence  on  weight  or  strength,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  Longleaf  Pine  from  one 
State  is  better  than  that  from  any  other,  since  such  variations  as  are  claimed  can  be  found  on  any 
40-acre  lot  of  timber  in  any  State.  But  with  Loblolly,  and  still  more  with  Shortleaf,  this  seems  not 
to  be  the  case.  Being  widely  distributed  over  many  localities  different  in  soil  and  climate,  the 
growth  of  the  Shortleaf  Pine  seems  materially  influenced  by  location.  The  wood  from  the  Southern 
coast  and  Gulf  region  and  even  Arkansas  is  generally  heavier  than  the  wood  from  localities  farther 
north.  Very  light  and  finegrained  wood  is  seldom  met  near  the  southern  limifof  the  range,  while 
it  is  almost  the  rule  in  Missouri,  where  forms  resembling  the  Norway  Pine  are  by  no  means  rare. 
The  Loblolly,  occupying  both  wet  and  dry  soils,  varies  accordingly. 


INFLUENCE  OF  MOISTURE  ON  STRENGTH. 


19 


INFLUENCE  OF  MOISTURE. 


This  influence  is  among  the  most  important,  hence  all  tests  have  been  made  with  due  regard 
to  moisture  conteuts.  Seasoned  wood  is  stronger  than  green  and  moist  wood ;  the  difference  between 
green  and  seasoned  wood  may  amount  to  50  and  even  100  per  cent.  The  influence  of  seasoning 
consists  in  (1)  bringing  by  means  of  shrinkage  about  10  per  cent  more  libers  into  the  same  square 
inch  of  cross  section  than  are  contained  in  the  wet  wood;  (2)  shrinking  the  cell  wall  itself  by  about 
50  per  cent  of  its  cross  section  and  thus  hardening  it,  just  as  a  cowskin  becomes  thinner  and 
harder  by  drying. 

In  the  following  tables  and  diagram  this  is  fully  illustrated;  the  values  presented  in  these 
tables  and  diagrams  are  based  on  large  numbers  of  tests  and  are  fairly  safe  for  ordinary  use.  They 
still  require  further  revision,  since  the  relations  to  density,  etc.,  have  had  to  be  neglected  in  this 
study. 

Influence  of  laohtiire  on  alreiiglh. 


ce^nTof 
mois- 
ture. 

Average  of  all  valid  te 

at  3. 

Relative  values. 

Cuban. 

■Zf: 

Lob- 
lolly. 

^K- 

Cuban. 

Long, 
leaf. 

Lob. 
lolly. 

Short- 
leaf. 

Aver- 

BeodiDg  strength: 

IV 

13 
10 

33+ 
20 
15 
10 

33+ 
20 
15 
10 

8,450 

7,660 
8,900 

7,370 
8.650 
10, 100 
12,400 

4,170 
5,350 
6,500 
8",  650 

6,900 
8,170 
9,230 
11,  000 

siloo 

5,900 
7,000 

100 
118 
142 
181 

100 
132 
157 
184 

100 
125 
149 
182 

100 
116 
142 
182 

100 
122 
154 
206 

100 
119 
148 

194 

100 
117 

138 
168 

100 
128 
156 

206 

,     100 
122 
147 

187 

100 
118 
134 
160 

100 
122 
142 
168 

100 
120 
138 
104 

Yard  dry    .  . 

139 

Cnishing  endwise: 

5,000 
6,600 
7,850 
9,200 

4,J50 
5,450 
6,830 
9,200 

Half  drv 

126 

Tauid?^::::::::::::::;::::::::::::::;;:::::::::: 

Mean  of  both''i)endiDg  and  ciushiui:  strength : 

Yard  drv    

' 

146 

Koom  div 

182 

1 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  strength  increases  by  about  50  per  cent  in  ordinary  good  yard 
seasoning,  and  that  it  can  be  increased  about  30  per  cent  more  by  complete  seasoning  in  kiln  or 
house. 

Large  timbers  require  several  years  before  even  the  yard-seasoned  condition  is  attained,  but 
2-inch  and  lighter  material  is  generally  not  used  with  more  than  15  per  cent  of  moisture. 


20 


TIMBF.K    PINES    OF    THE    SoUTllEKX    UNITED    STATES. 


WEIGHT   AND   MOISTXTRE. 


8(1  far  tlie  weight  of  only  the  kihidry  wood  has  been  considered.  In  fresli  as  well  as  all  yard 
anil  air  dried  material  there  is  contained  a  variable  amount  of  water.  The  amount  of  water 
contained  in  fresh  wood  of  these  pines  forms  more  than  half  the  weight  of  the  fresh  sapwood,  and 
about  one-fifth  to  one-fourth  of  the  heartwood.  In  yard-dry  wood  it  falls  to  about  12  to  18  per 
cent,  while  in  wood  kept  in  well-ventilated,  and  especially  in  heated  rooms  it  is  about  5  to  10 
l)er  cent,  varying  with  size  of  piece,  i)art  of  tree,  species,  temperature,  and  humidity  of  air. 
Heated  to  150°  F.  (G5^  (J.),  the  wood  loses  all  but  abi)ut  1|^  to  2  per  cent  of  its  moisture,  and  if  the 
temperature  is  raised  to  175°  F.  there  remains  less  than  1  per  cent,  the  wood  dried  at  212°  F. 
being  assumed  to  be  (though  it  is  not  really)  perfectly  dry.  Of  course,  large  pieces  are  in  prac- 
tice never  left  long  enough  exposed  to  become  truly  kiln  dry,  though  in  factories  this  state  is  often 
api)roached. 

As  long  as  the  water  in  the  wood  amounts  to  about  30  i)er  cent  or  more  of  the  dry  weight  of 
the  wood  there  is  no  shrinkage '  (the  water  coming  from  the  cell  lumen),  and  the  density  or  specitic 
gravity  changes  simply  in  direct  i^roportion  to  the  loss  of  water.  When  the  moisture  per  cent 
falls  below  abont  30,  the  water  comes  from  the  cell  wall,  and  the  loss  of  water  and  weight  is  accom- 
panied by  a  loss  of  volume,  so 
that  both  factors  of  the  frac- 
tion 
Specitic  gravity  — 


1 

\ 

/ 

j 

-,_,0rSi0^^-^ 

/ 

1 

1 
1 

i 

r 

w 

0              \ 

U 

5 

^m 

a/rr       im« 

r->y                            .(- 

2 

33-t 

weight 


volume 
arc  affected,  and  the  change 
in  the  specific  gravity  no  lon- 
ger is  simply  proportional  to 
the  loss  of  water  or  weight. 
The  loss  of  weight  and  vol- 
ume, however,  being  unequal 
and  disproportionate, a  marked 
reduction  of  the  specific  grav- 
ity takes  place,  amounting  in 
these  ]>ines  to  about  S  to  10  i^er 
cent  of  the  specitic  weight  of 
the  dry  wood. 

SHRINKAGE. 

The  behavior  of  the  wood  of 
the  Southern  i)ines  in  shrink- 
age does  not  differ  materially. 
Generally  the  heavier  wood 
shrinks  the  most,  and  sapwood 
°"""""'*'  shrinks  about  one  fourth  more 

than  heartwood  of  the  same  specific  weight.  Very  resinous  pieces  ("light  wood"')  shrink  much  less 
than  other  wood.  In  keeping  with  these  general  facts,  the  shrinkage  of  the  wood  of  the  upper 
logs  is  usually  15  to  20  per  cent  less  than  that  of  the  butt  pieces  and  the  shrinkage  of  the  heavy 
heartwood  of  old  trees  is  greater  than  that  of  the  lighter  peripheral  parts  of  the  same,  while  the 
shrinkage  of  the  heavy  wood  of  saplings  is  greatest  of  all.  On  the  whole,  the  wood  of  these  pines 
shrinks  about  10  per  cent  in  its  volume — 3  to  4  per  cent  along  the  radius  and  0  to  7  per  cent  along 
the  tangent  or  along  the  yearly  rings. 

After  leaving  the  kiln  the  wood  at  once  begins  to  absorb  moisture  and  to  swell.     In  an 
experiment  with  short  pieces  of  loblolly  and  shortleaf,  representing  ordinary  flooring  or  siding 

'  lu  oitlinary  lumber  anil  all  large  size  material  the  exterior  parts  commonly  ilry  so  much  sooner  than  the  bulk 
of  the  stick  that  checking  often  occurs  though  the  moisture  per  cent  of  the  whole  stick  is  still  far  above  30. 


Fio.  4.— Diagram 


USE    OF    THE   WOOD.  21 

sizes,  these  regained  more  than  half  the  water  and  underwent  over  half  the  total  swelling  during 
tlie  first  ten  days  after  leaving  the  kiln  (see  tig.  4).  P^ven  in  this  less  than  air  dry  wood  the 
changes  in  weight  far  excel  the  changes  iu  volume  (sum  of  radial  and  tangential  swelling),  and, 
therefore,  the  specific  gravity  even  at  this  low  per  cent  of  moisture  was  decreased  by  drying  and 
increased  by  subsequent  absorption  of  moisture.  Immersion  and,  still  more  readily,  boiling  cause 
the  wood  to  return  to  its  original  size,  but  temperatures  even  above  the  boiling  point  do  not 
prevent  the  wood  from  "  working,"  or  shrinking  and  swelling. 

In  fig.  -i  are  represented  the  results  of  experiments  on  the  rate  of  loss  of  water  iu  the  dry 
kiln  and  the  reabsorption  of  water  iu  the  air.  The  wood  used  was  of  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf  Pine 
kept  on  a  shelf  in  an  ordinarj^  room  before  and  after  kiln  drying.  The  measurements  were  made 
with  caliper. 

EFFECT    OF    "BOXINCt,''   OR    "BLEEDING-." 

"Bleeding"  pine  trees  for  their  resin,  to  which  chiefly  Longleaf  and  Cuban  Pine  are  subjected, 
has  generally  been  regarded  as  injurious  to  the  timber.  Both  durability  and  strength,  it  was 
claimed,  were  impaired  by  this  process,  and  in  the  specifications  of  many  architects  and  large  con- 
sumers, such  as  railway  companies,  "bled"  timber  was  excluded.  Since  the  utilization  of  resin  is 
one  of  the  leading  industries  of  the  South,  and  siuce  the  process  affects  several  milUons  of  dollars' 
worth  of  timber  every  year,  a  special  investigation  involving  mechanical  tests,  physical  and  chem- 
ical analyses  of  the  wood  of  bled  and  unbled  trees  from  the  same  locality  were  carried  out  by  this 
division.  The  results  prove  conclusively  (1)  that  bled  timber  is  as  strong  as  unbled  if  of  the  same 
weight;  (2)  that  the  weight  and  shrinkage  of  tlie  wood  is  not  affected  by  bleeding;  (3)  that  bled 
trees  contain  practically  neither  more  nor  less  resin  that  unbled  trees,  the  loss  of  resin  referring 
only  to  the  sapwood,  and  therefore  the  durability  is  not  affected  by  the  bleeding  process. 

The  following  table  shows  the  remarkable  numerical  similarity  between  the  average  results 
for  three  groups  of  trees,  the  higlier  values  of  the  bled  material  being  readily  explained  by  the 
difl'ereuce  iu  weight: 


Specific 
jei^Uof 


Unboxeti  trees 

Boxed  ami  rec:eutly  abaudoned  .. 
Boxed  aud  abaudoned  five  years. 


Bending  Compression  1 

stiengtii  sirengih 

per  sq ua re  per  square 

inch.  I         inch.    ' 


Pounds 

/Vlmds. 

12,9fil 

7,8i:i 

12,  586 

7.575 

The  amount  of  resin  in  the  wood  varies  greatly,  aud  trees  growing  side  by  side  differ  within 
very  wide  limits.  Sapwood  contains  but  little  resin  (1  to  i  per  cent),  even  in  those  trees  in  which 
the  heartwood  contains  abundance.  In  the  heartwood  the  resiu  forms  from  5  to  24  per  cent  of  the 
dry  weight  (of  which  about  one-sixth  is  turpentine),  aud  can  not  be  removed  by  bleeding,  so  that 
its  quantity  remains  unaffected  by  tlie  process. 

Bled  timber,  then,  is  as  useful  for  all  purposes  as  unbled. 

U8E    OF    THE    WOOD. 

In  its  use  the  wood  of  all  four  species  is  iiuicli  alike.  The  coarse-grained,  heavy,  resinous 
forms  are  especially  suited  for  timbers  and  ilimcnsion  stuff;  while  the  fine-grained  wood,  whatever 
species  it  may  belong  to,  is  used  for  a  unnt  \:ii  iity  of  jjurposes. 

At  present  distinction  is  but  rarely  made  in  the  species  and  in  their  use;  all  four  species  are 
used  much  alike,  although  differentiation  is  very  desirable  on  account  of  the  difference  in  quality. 
Formerly  these  pines,  except  for  local  use,  were  mostly  cut  or  hewn  into  timbers,  but  especially 
since  the  use  of  dry  kilns  has  become  general  and  the  .simple  oil  finish  has  displaced  the  unsightly 
painting  and  "graining"  of  wood.  Southern  iiine  is  cut  into  every  form  and  grade  of  lumber, 
Xevertheless,  a  large  proportion  of  the  total  cut  is  still  being  sawed  to  order  in  sizes  above  G 
by  0  inches  aud  lengths  above  20  feet  for  timbers,  for  which  the  Longleaf  and  Cuban  Pine  furnish 
ideal  material.  The  resinous  condition  of  these  two  pines  make  them  also  desirable  tor  railway- 
ties  of  lasting  quality. 


22 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    l>TAT£S. 


Since  tbe  custom  of  painting  and  graining-  woodwork  has  given  way  to  natural  grain  with  oil 
finish,  the  wood  of  these  hard  pines  is  becoming  very  popular  for  inside  finish. 

Kiln-drying  is  successfully  practiced  with  all  four  species,  but  especially  with  the  Shortleaf 
and  Loblolly  pines  which,  if  not  artificially  seasoned,  are  liable  to  "blue."  The  wood  can  be  dried 
without  great  injury  rt  high  temperatures. 

RATE    OF    GROWTH. 

The  species  naturally  develop  somewhat  differently,  according  to  the  soil  conditions  in  which 
they  occur.  Without  going  into  a  detailed  discussion,  which  will  be  found  in  the  body  of  this 
work  under  each  species,  a  comparison  of  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  four  species,  based  on  a  large 
number  of  measurements,  gave,  for  average  trees  and  average  conditions,  the  results  shown  in  the 
accompanying  diagrams  (figs.  5  to  7),  which  permit  the  determination  of  the  rate  of  growth  at 
different  periods  of  their  life. 


Fig.  5.— Diagram  sho-mng  comparative  progress  of  hcigbt  groivtli  in  average  trees. 

From  these  it  appears  that  the  Cuban  Pine  is  by  far  the  most  rapid  grower,  while  the  Longleaf 
Pine,  which  usually  grows  associated  with  the  former,  is  the  slowest.  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf 
occupying  a  position  between  the  two. 

The  Longleaf  shows  for  the  first  five  to  seven  years  hardly  any  development  in  height  and 
begins  then  to  grow  i-apidly  and  evenly  to  the  fiftieth  or  seventieth  year,  and  even  after  that 
period,  though  the  rate  is  somewhat  diminished,  progresses  evenly  and  steadily,  giving  to  the 
height  curve  a  smooth  and  persistent  character. 

The  diameter  growth  shows  the  same  even  and  persistent  progress  from  the  start,  and  the 
volume  growth  also  progresses  evenly  after  the  rapid  height  growth  rate  is  passed  at  seventy  years. 

The  Cuban  Pine  ceases  in  its  maximum  rate  of  height  growth  at  thirty  years,  starts  with  its 
diameter  growth  at  about  the  rate  of  the  Loblolly,  but  after  the  twenty-fifth  year  leaves  the  latter 


STATISTICS   AND    CO^'CLUSIONS.  23 

behind  for  the  next  twenty-five  to  thirty  years,  then  proceeds  at  about  the  same  rate,  but  persisting 
longer  than  the  Loblolly.  At  the  age  of  fifty  years  the  Cuban  Pine  with  46  cubic  feet  has  made 
nearly  twice  the  amount  of  the  Loblolly  and  more  than  four  times  that  of  the  Longleaf,  but  at  one 
hundred  years  the  difterence  is  reduced,  being  then  115, 90,  and  55  cubic  feet,  respectively,  for  the 
three  species. 

Both  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf  Pine  reach  their  maximum  growth  sooner  than  the  other  two 
species.  While  these  still  show  a  persisteytly  ascending  line  at  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  cue 
hundred  and  forty  years,  the  rate  of  growth  in  the  Loblolly  shows  a  decline  after  the  one  hundredth 
year,  and  the  Shortleaf  has  done  its  best  by  the  eightieth  year.  These  facts  give  indications  as  to 
the  rotation  under  which  these  various  species  may  be  managed. 


22 

VCA<!/ 

>, 

^ 

^ 

20 

. 

^__ 

18 

^ 

^^ 

"^ 

16 

^ 

^  ? 

W 

^ 

^ 

^ 

14 

y^ 

^ 

/( 

<^' 

12 

/ 

A 

V' 

y 

V 

' 

10 

/ 

A 

V 

^<^' 

8 

'/ 

/ 

y 

/ 

6 

// 

/ 

/ 

4 

// 

V 

2/ 

V 

i^ 

0          2 

0        5 

0        4 

0   5 

0        6 

0       7 

0        8 

0        9 

0          l( 

)o      i 

0      r 

IQ       k 

50       140    150 

Fig.  6.— Diagram  showing  oomrarati 


1  of  diameter  growth  i 


As  stated  before,  the  growth  of  trees,  especially  in  the  virgin  forest,  is  quite  variable  even  for 
the  same  species  and  same  soil  conditions;  au  average,  therefore,  like  the  one  presented  in  the 
diagrams,  however  perfect,  could  apply  only  when  large  numbers  are  considered.  Thus  there  are 
fast-growing  trees  of  Longleaf  and  slow-growing  of  Cuban  or  Loblolly  Pine.  Yet  the  diagrams 
will  fairly  well  represent  the  average  growth,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Cuban  Pine,  for 
which  the  number  of  measurements  was  too  small  to  furnish  reliable  data. 


STATISTICS   AND   CONCLUSIONS. 

The  greatest  difiBculty  Dr.  Mohr  has  found  is  in  the  statistical  portions  of  his  work.  To  deter- 
mine the  amounts  of  remaining  timber  supplies  of  the  various  species  is  almost  an  impossibility 
without  a  very  elaborate  and  laborious  canvass,  which,  to  be  sure,  it  would  appear  our  duty  to 


24 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


undertake,  but  for  which  tlie  means  at  the  disposal  of  the  Division  of  Forestry  have  never  been 
sufficieut.  Even  the  amount  of  annual  C(msumi)tion  can  only  be  approximated,  ]iarlly  because 
the  species  are  not  always  kept  separate  and  partly  because  information  is  not  always  readily 
given  by  the  operators  or  shippers. 

The  statistics  for  Longleaf  Pine  can  be  more  nearly  aiii)roxinmted,  for  the  majority  of  tlie  mills 
engaged  in  its  exploitation  cut  hardly  any  other  timber;  moreover,  its  j;eographical  limits  are  more 
clearly  defined,  so  that  even  the  area  of  remaining  supplies  is  not  entirely  beyond  our  ken. 

When  it  comes  to  using  such  statistics  for  a  prognostication  as  regards  available  supplies, 
another  difficulty  arises  in  the  change  of  standards  of  material  recognized  as  marketable  and  the 
change  of  demand  or  use,  and  hence  consumption,  of  any  of  the  varieties.  But  we  can  now  safely 
assume  that  the  standard  of  size  and  quality,  which  was  high  when  the  census  figures  of  ISSO  were 


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PiQ.  7 — Diagram  showing  comparative  progress  of  volume  groivtb  iu  average  frees. 

estimated  and  hence  made  them  appear  below  the  truth,  has  now  sunk  nearly  to  the  lowest  level, 
any  stick  that  can  be  placed  on  the  mill  down  to  10  inch  and  .Sinch  being  fit  material.  There  is 
also  no  danger  of  any  reduction  in  the  cut  for  any  reason  except  a  temporary  one  due  to  such 
general  business  depression  as  that  experienced  tlirougliout  the  last  two  years.  Increase  of 
consumption  of  Southern  timber  is  bound  to  follow  the  imminent  exhaustion  of  the  pine  supplies 
of  the  North.  And  with  the  exception  of  Pacific  Coast  timbers,  which,  owing  to  their  great 
distance,  have  so  far  made  but  little  competition  in  Eastern  markets,  no  new  undiscovered  timber 
resouice  will  influence  the  cut  of  Southern  pine. 

Venturing  on  the  basis  of  the  meager  data  furnished  in  this  publication  to  make  a  guess  at 
the  probable  supply  an  1  demand,  we  may  with  due  reserve  state  that  the  amount  of  pine  timber 
ready  for  lumber  manufacture  standing  in  the  South  can  not  be  above  L'r)(),()00,000,OOU  feet,  and 


STATISTICS    AND    CONCLUSIONS.  25 

more  likely  will  fall  far  below  200,000,000,000  feet,  while  the  figure  for  present  and  lowest  future 
annual  consumption  may  be  approximated  at  near  7,000,000,000  feet,  board  measure.' 

There  is  nobody  who  knows  or  can  kuow  the  actual  condition  of  supplies,  and  whoever  has  an 
opinion  on  the  subject  will  have  to  bring  at  least  as  good  a  basis  or  a  better  one  for  such  opinion 
than  the  data  furnished  in  the  following  monographs. 

There  is  no  attempt  to  predict  from  the  foregoing  figures  the  absolute  exhaustion  of  the  pine 
supplies  of  the  South  within  forty  or  fifty  j  ears,  although  such  a  result  would  appear  not  unlikely. 
Competition  of  otlier  timbers,  and  substitutes  lor  the  use  of  wood  (which,  to  be  sure,  never  in  the 
history  of  the  world  have  reduced  wood  consumption),  and  especially  changes  in  i)resent  methods 
of  exploitation,  may  lengthen  out  supplies  for  a  short  time;  or,  if  we  begin  rational  forestry  now, 
these  forests  may  be  kept  a  source  of  continuous  supplies,  everi  though  reduced. 

Those  who  rely  upon  the  si)ontaneous  natural  rejiroduction  of  these  pines  to  fill  the  gaps  made 
in  the  virgin  timber  will  do  well  to  read  the  chapters  on  natural  reproduction  and  the  incidental 
remarks  regarding  the  conditions  for  renewal  and  the  appearance  of  the  aftergrowth ;  or,  better, 
tramp  through  the  vast  region  of  culled  pine  woods  and  observe  what  the  basis  of  their  reliance 
is,  as  the  writer  of  these  monographs  has  done  through  forty  years  of  his  life.  If,  in  addition, 
they  study  the  chapters  on  conditions  of  development,  they  will  realize  that  the  Longleaf  Pine  is 
bound  to  disappear  largely  even  in  the  regions  where  it  reigned  supreme;  that  the  Cuban  Pine,  no 
despicable  substitute,  will  take  its  place  in  the  lower  jjine  belt,  if  allowed  to  propagate  at  all;  but 
on  large  burnt  areas  the  growth  of  scrubby  oaks  and  brush  will  forever  exclude  this  species  which 
eminently  needs  light.  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf,  better  fitted  for  warfaie  with  other  species,  will  do 
much  in  their  respective  habitats  to  recuperate,  except  in  the  mixed  forest,  where  they  are  culled 
and  the  hard  woods  are  left  to  shade  out  the  aftergrowth;  or  where  the  continuous  conflagrations 
have  destroyed  the  mold  and  aftergrowth  and  given  over  the  soil  to  scrubby  brushgrowth,  whu;h 
for  ages  will  either  prevent  the  gnidual  return  of  the  ])ines  or  impede  their  renewal  and  growth. 
Considering  that  the  timber  on  which  we  now  rely  and  on  wliich  we  base  our  standards  comes  from 
trees  usually  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  liundred  years  or  more  old,  and  that  none  of  these 
pines  makes  respectable  timber  in  less  than  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years,  the 
necessity  of  timely  attention  to  their  renewal  is  further  emphasized. 

The  owners  of  timber  land  and  the  operator^.  of  mills  are  tlie  only  peo))le  who  can  improve 
these  conditions,  and  this  by  a  more  rational  treatment  of  their  property.  If  they  can  be  made  to 
realize  now  that  what  they  own  and  hold  as  a  temporary  speculation  will,  in  a  short  time,  when 
supplies  have  visibly  decreased,  become  a  first-class  investmeut,  and,  by  its  revenues,  become  a 
greater  source  of  wealth  under  competent  management  with  a  view  to  reproduction  than  that  which 
they  have  derived  from  it  by  the  mere  robbing  of  the  old  timber,  they  might  take  steps  at  least 
against  the  unnecessary  damage  done  to  it  by  fire  and  cattle.  I'ermanency  and  continuity  of 
ownership  appear  to  be  the  first  condition  to  insure  such  results,  and  therefore  corporations  which 
are  not  of  an  ephemeral  character  and  men  of  large  wealth  are  most  desirable  forest  owners. 

The  monographs  here  presented  will,  it  is  hoped,  aid  in  this  realization,  and  the  information 
regarding  the  conditions  of  development  of  the  difl'erent  species  will  furnish  suggestions  as  to  the 
forest  management  which,  modified  according  to  local  conditions  and  economic  considerations,  may 
be  employed  to  secure  the  perpetuity  of  the  Southern  pineries. 

B.  E.  Fekxow. 

Washington,  D.  C,  June  5,  1S'j6. 


'  The  entire  region  within  which  the  sepines  in  occur  merch.nntablo  condition  comprises  ahont  230,000  sqnare  miles 
or,  in  round  nunibtrs,  147,000,000  acres ;  for  land  in  farms,  etc.,  10,000,OCO  acres  ninst  b(!  dodncted,  and  allowing  as  much 
as  two-thirds  of  the  remainder  as  representing  pine  lands  (the  other  to  hardwoods'),  we  would  have  about  90,000,000 
acres  on  which  pine  may  occur.  An  average  growth  (if  3,000  feet  per  acre,  nn  extravagant  figure  when  referred  to 
such  an  area,  would  make  the  ]iossible  stand  270,000,000,000  feet,  provided  it  was  in  virgiu  condition  and  not  mostly 
culled  or  cut. 


Fig    2.-LONGLEAF  Pine  Purest  after  Removal  of  Merchantable  Timber 


THE  LONGLEAF  PINE. 

(PINUS    PALUSTRIS  Miller.) 


Geographical  Distribution. 
Products  and  Uses. 
Botanical  Description. 
Description  of  Wood. 
Progress  of  Development. 
Conditions  of  Development. 
Forest  Management. 
Appendix:  The  ^^aval  Store  Industry. 
Longleaf  Pine  in  Highlands. 
Additional  Notes  on  Longleaf  Pine. 


THE    LOXOLEAK    J^INE. 

{riinis  pahistris  Miller.) 

Syiiiiuynis:  Piiiiis  ))«/»»()■;<  Miller,  Gard.  Diet.,  cd.  8,  No.  14  (1768). 
I'iiius  liilra  Walter,  Fl.  Car.,  237  (1788). 

riiiiis  anstrnlis  Michau.x  f..  Hist.  Arb.  Am.,  i.  G4,  t.  6  (1810). 
rUiufi  aerotma  Hort.  Cf.  Bou  Jard.  976  (1837)  ex  Antoine,  Conif.,  23  (1840-'47 
I'inui  Palmieiiais  Fr.  Gard.  ex  Gordon,  Pinetum,  ed.  1,  Suppl.,  63  (1862). 
riling  /'(i/mieriMauetti  ex  Gord.,  1.  c.  (1862). 


Jlichx.  (1803). 


LOCAL  OR  COMMON  XAMES 


LoDgleaved  Pine  (Del.,  N.  C,  S.C,  Ga.,  Al:i.,  Fla., 

La.,  Tex.). 
Southern  Pine  (N.  C,  Ala.,  Miss..  La. ). 
Yellow  Pine  (Del.,  N.  C.  S.  C,  Aia.,  Fla.,  La.,  Tex 
Turiicutine  Pine  (N.  C). 
Rosemary  Pine  (N.  C). 
Brown  Pine  (Tenn.). 
Hard  Pine  (Ala.,  Miss.,  La.). 
Georgia  Pine  (Del.). 
Fat  Pine  (Southern  States). 
Southern  Yellow  Pine  (general). 
Southern  Hard  Pine  (general). 
Southern  Heart  Pine  (general). 
Southern  Pitch  Pine  (general). 
Hiart  Pine  (N.  C.  and  Southern  Atlantic  region). 
28 


Pitch  Pine  (Atlantic  region). 

Longleaved  Yellow  Pine  (.Ulantic  region). 

Longleaved  Pitch  Pine  (Atlantic  region). 

Long-straw  Pine  (Atlantic  region). 

North  Carolina  Pitch  Pine  (Va.,  X.  C.). 

Georgia  Yellow  Pine  (Atlantic  region). 

Georgia  Pine  (general). 

Georgia  Heart  Pipe  (general  i. 

Georgia  Longleaved  Pine  (Atlantic  region). 

Georgia  Pitch  Pine  (Atlantic  region). 

Florida  Yellow  Pine  (Atlantic  region). 

Florida  Pine  (A'tlantic  region  i. 

Florida  Longleaved  Pine  (Atlantii-  region). 

Texas  Yellow  Pine  (Atlantic  region). 

Texas  Longleaved  Pine  (Atlantic  region). 


THE   LONGLEAF   PINE. 


INTKODFCrORY. 


The  Loiiglenf  Piiic  is  tlie  tree  of  widest  distribution  and  of  greatest  commercial  importance 
in  the  Southern  Athuitic  forest  region  of  eastern  North  America,  covering,  with  scarcely  any 
lnterru])tiou,  areas  to  be  measured  by  tens  of  thousands  of  square  miles  and  furnishing  useful 
material. 

The  timber  wealth  of  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine,  much  of  which  is  still  untouched,  has  given 
rise  to  industries  which  involve  the  outlay  of  vast  capital  and  an  extensive  employment  of  labor, 
thus  closely  affecting  the  prosperity  of  a  large  part  of  the  Southern  States  as  well  as  the  indus- 
trial and  commercial  interests  of  the  whole  country. 

With  the  impending  exhaustion  of  the  pine  forests  of  the  North,  the  lumber  interests  of  the 
country  arc  steadily  tending  to  center  in  the  South,  attracted  chiefly  by  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine. 

The  Old  World,  which  has  heretofore  depended  almost  entirely  upon  the  pine  forests  of  Canada 
and  of  the  Northern  United  States  for  timber  for  heavy  construction,  is  already  importing  a  large 
amount  of  hewn  and  sawn  square  timber  and  of  lumber  iiom  the  Southern  pine  forests.  Most  of 
the  lumber  used  for  ordinary  building  i)urposes  in  the  West  Indies,  on  the  coast  of  Mexico,  and 
in  many  of  the  States  of  South  America  is  furnished  by  the  mills  situated  in  the  Longleaf  Pine 
region.  The  unprecedented  increase,  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  of  the  population  in 
the  timberk'ss  regions  of  the  far  West,  as  well  as  in  the  country  at  large,  enormously  augments 
the  drafts  made  upon  these  forests,  threatening  their  eventual  exhaustion  and  ultimate  destruc- 
tion unless  measures  are  taken  by  which  these  supplies  may  be  perpetuated.  Tlie  solution  of  the 
difticult  problem  of  devising  such  measures  can  come  oidy  as  a  result  of  a  study  of  the  life  history 
of  the  Longleaf  Pine,  of  the  conditions  required  for  its  growth  and  best  development,  of  the  laws 
regulating  its  distribution,  and  of  the  possibilities  for  its  natural  or  artificial  restoration. 

HISTORICAL. 

The  economic  importance  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  was  well  recognized  in  early  times.  Bartram,' 
in  the  year  1777,  in  his  wanderings  along  the  western  shore  of  JMobile  Bay,  had  his  attention 
attracted  by  three  very  large  iron  pots,  or  kettles,  each  with  a  capacity  of  several  hundred  gallons, 
near  the  remains  of  an  old  fort  or  settlement,  which  he  was  informed  were  used  for  the  purpose  of 
boiling  down  the  tar  to  pitch,  there  being  vast  forests  of  pine  in  the  vicinity  of  this  i)lace.  "In 
Carolina,"'  this  writer  i)roceeds,  "the  inhabitants  pursue  a  different  method.  When  thejr  are  going 
to  utake  pitch  they  dig  large  holes  in  the  ground,  which  they  line  with  a  thick  coat  of  good  clay, 
into  which  they  conduct  a  sufficient  quantity  of  tar  and  set  it  on  fire,  suiferiiig  it  to  burn  and 
evaporate  for  some  time,  in  order  to  convert  it  into  pitch,  and  when  cool,  put  it  into  barrels  until 
they  have  consumed  all  the  tar  and  made  a  sufficient  quantity  of  pitch  for  their  purposes." 

Humphrey  ^Marshall,  one  of  the  earliest  writers  on  North  American  forest  trees,'  mentions 
the  Longleaf  Pine  under  the  name  of  the  "largest  three  leaved  marsh  pine,  as  accounted  equal  to 
any  for  its  resinous  products."  In  North  Carolina  crude  resin,  tar,  and  pitch  figured  as  important 
and  valuable  exports  during  the  later  colonial  times.    During  the  period  from  176G  to  1769, 8130,000 


r.artram's  Travels  tliron.!;h  Xortli  and  South  Carolina.     Philadelphia,  1791. 
'  lliimiihrey  JIsi>hall :  •■.Arbiistrnm  AiiiericaMiim,''  or  the  American  Grove.     Pliiladflphi 


30  TI.MBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

worth  of  these  stores  were  exported  yearly ;  among  them  were  88,11 1  barrels  of  crude  resiii,  valued 
at  sllj-ii.So.  F.  A.  Michaux,  iu  his  travels  east  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  spcakinu-  of  the 
low  country  of  the  Carolinas,  says:'  "Seven  tenths  is  covered  with  pine  of  nnc  siKcics,  rinus 
jMhistris,  which,  as  the  soil  is  drier  and  lighter,  grows  loftier;  these  pines,  encumhcred  with  very 
few  branches  and  which  split  even,  are  preferred  to  other  trees  for  building  fences  on  plantations." 
In  his  subsequent  work  Michaux  gives  for  the  lirst  time  an  accurate  and  detailed  account  of  the 
products  of  this  tree  and  their  industrial  and  commercial  importance,  as  well  as  of  its  distribution 
and  a  description  of  its  specific  characters.- 

XoTE. — Iu  sketching  the  topographical  features  of  those  regions  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  forests,  which  did  not 
come  under  the  personal  observation  of  the  writer,  the  phj-siographical  descriptions  of  the  Cotton  States  on  the 
Atlantic  Coast  and  the  Gulf  region  published  in  Professor  Hilgard's  report  on  cotton  production  in  the  fifth  and  sixth 
volumes  of  the  Census  of  1880  were  freely  drawn  upon,  and  these  reports  were  also  consulted,  together  with  Table  VII, 
in  the  statistics  published  in  the  census  report  on  productions  of  agriculture  in  the  computation  of  forest  areas. 

In  the  statements  of  the  amount  of  Longleaf  Pine  standing  iu  the  several  States  in  1880  and  of  the  cut  during 
the  same  year,  the  figures  given  in  Prof.  Charles  S.  Sargent's  report,  Vol.  IX  of  the  Tenth  Census,  were  introduced, 
and  for  those  which  relate  to  Alabama  and  Mississippi  the  writer  is  mostly  responsible.  No  ert'orts  have  been  spared 
to  arrive  at  a  correct  estimate  of  the  total  amount  and  value  of  square  timber,  lumber,  and  naval  stores  produced 
during  the  decade  ending  with  the  year  1890  and  during  the  business  year  ISg.'S,  in  order  to  place  iu  a  proper  light 
the  economic  importance  of  the  tree  and  its  bearings  upon  the  industrial  and  commercial  interests  of  the  country, 
and  also  to  show  the  rapid  increase  of  the  industries  depending  directly  upon  the  resources  of  this  tree.  The  state- 
ments given  are,  however,  of  necessity  only  approximations  falling  below  the  limits  of  truth,  as  it  was  impossible  to 
ascertain  with  any  degree  of  accuracy  the  quantities  entering  into  home  consumption.  Thus  a  factor  of  no  little 
importance  had  to  be  neglected. 

The  thanks  of  the  writer  are  due  to  the  gentlemen  who  kindly  assisted  him  by  their  promjit  reidies  to  his 
inquiries  iu  search  for  information,  and  who  in  other  ways  have  afforded  him  aid. 

GEOGRAPHICAL    DISTRIBITION. 

The  Longleaf  Pine  is  principally  confined  to  a  belt  about  125  miles  in  width  in  the  lower 
parts  of  the  Southern  States  which  border  upon  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf  shores.  The  northern 
limit  of  the  tree  is  found  on  the  coast  near  the  southern  boundary  of  Virginia  below  Xorfolk, 
north  latitude  36°  30'.  From  here  the  forests  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  extend  southward  along  the 
coast  region  to  Cape  Canaveral,  across  the  peninsula  of  Florida  a  short  distance  south  of  Tampa 
Bay,  westward  along  the  Gulf  Coast  to  the  uplands  which  border  upon  the  alluvial  deposits  of 
the  Mississippi.  West  of  that  river  forests  of  this  species  continue  to  the  Trinity  liiver  in  Texas; 
in  that  State  its  northern  limit  is  found  to  reach  hardly  32°  north  latitude,  while  in  Louisiana  and 
ilississippi  it  extends  hardly  more  than  half  a  degree  farther  north,  and  in  Alabama  tinder  .'Uo  30' 
the  tree  is  found  to  ascend  the  extreme  southern  spurs  of  the  Appalachian  chain  to  an  altitude  of 
between  1,500  and  2,000  feet.  Thus  the  area  of  the  distribution  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  extends  from 
70°  to  9G0  we.st  longitude  and  from  20^  30'  to  36^  30'  north  latitude.     (See  PI.  III.) 

With  reference  to  the  distribution  of  this  species  as  depending  upon  geological  formation,  it 
may  be  said  that  its  forests  are  chiefly  confined  to  the  sandy  and  gravelly  deposits  designated  by 
Professor  Hilgard  as  the  orange  sand,  or  Lafayette  strata  of  Post-Tertiary  formation,  which  of  late 
is  regarded  as  the  most  recent  member  of  the  Tertiary  formation.  These  siliceous  sands  and  pebbles, 
which  to  such  vast  extent  cover  the  lower  part  of  the  Southern  States  and  form  also  more  or  less 
the  covering  of  the  surface  throughout  the  older  Tertiary  region,  otter  the  physical  conditions  most 
suitable  to  the  growth  of  this  tree. 

CHARACTERISTICS   OF   DISTRIBUTION   IN   DIFFERENT   REGIONS, 

This  great  maritime  pine  belt  east  of  the  Mississippi  River  presents  such  differences  iu 
topographical  features  and  such  diversity  of  physical  and  mechanical  conditions  of  the  soil  as  to 
permit  a  distinction  of  three  divisions  going  from  the  coast  to  the  interior: 

1.  The  coastal  plain,  or  low  pine  barrens  within  the  tide  water  region,  extends  from  the  seashore 
inland  for  a  distance  of  from  10  to  30  miles  and  over.    The  forests  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  which 


'  M^moire  sur  la  naturalisation  des  arbres  forestiers  de  I'Amerique  septentrionale,  by  F.  A.  Michaux.    Paris,  1805. 
-F.  A.  Michaux,  Histoire  des  Arbres  forestiers  de  I'Amer.,  Sept.     Paris,  1810-1813.     English  translation,  Phila- 
delphia Editiou,  1859,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  lOU  et  seq. 


Sulletin  No.  13,  Division  of  Forestry. 


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TIMBER    REGIONS SUPPLY   AND    PRODUCTION.  31 

occupy  tlie  poorly  draiued  grassy  flats  of  the  plain  are  very  open,  intersected  by  numerous  inlets 
of  the  sea  and  by  brackish  marshes.  They  are  also  interrupted  by  swamps  densely  covered  with 
Cypress,  WhiteCedar,  Whiteand  Red  Bay,  Water  Oak,  Live  Oak,  Magnolia,  Tupelo  Gum,  and  Black 
Gum  and  again  by  grassy  savannas  of  greater  or  less  extent.  On  the  higher  level,  or  what  might 
be  called  the  first  terrace,  with  its  better  drained  and  more  loamy  soil,  the  Longleaf  Pine  once 
prevailed,  but  almost  everywhere  in  the  coastal  plain  the  original  timber  has  been  removed  by 
man  and  replaced  by  the  Loblolly  Pine  and  the  Cuban  Pine. 

2.  The  rolling  pine  lands,  pine  hills,  or  pine  barrens  proper  are  the  true  home  of  the  Long- 
leaf  Pine.  On  the  Atlantic  Coast  these  uplands  rise  to  hills  over  600  feet  in  height,  while  in  the 
Gulf  region  they  form  broad,  gentle  undulations  rarely  exceeding  an  elevation  of  300  feet.  TLus 
spreading  out  in  extensive  table-lands,  these  hills  are  covered  exclusively  with  the  forests  of  this 
tree  for  many  hundreds  of  square  miles  without  interruption.  Here  it  reigns  supreme.  The 
monotony  of  the  pine  forests  on  these  table-lands  is  unbroken. 

3.  The  upper  division,  or  region  of  mixed  growth.  With  the  appearance  of  the  strata  of  the 
Tertiary  formation  in  the  upper  part  of  the  pine  belt,  the  pure  forests  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  are  con- 
fined to  the  ridges  capped  by  the  drifted  sands  and  pebbles  and  to  the  rocky  heights  of  siliceous 
chert,  alternating  with  open  woods  of  oak  (principally  Post  Oak),  which  occupy  the  richer  lands  of 
the  calcareous  loams  and  marls.  However,  where  these  loams  and  marls,  rich  in  plant  food, 
mingle  with  the  drifted  soils,  we  find  again  the  Longleaf  Pine,  but  associated  with  broad-leaved 
trees  and  with  the  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf  Pine.  Here  the  Longleaf  Pine  attains  a  larger  size  and 
the  number  of  trees  of  maximum  growth  per  acre  is  found  almost  double  that  on  the  lower 
division. 

TOIBER  REGIONS— SUPPLY  AND  PRODUCTION. 

The  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  can  be  conveniently  discussed  by  referring  to  the  following  geo- 
graphical and  limited  areas : 
The  Atlantic  pine  region; 

The  maritime  pine  belt  of  the  eastern  Gulf  States; 
The  central  pine  belt  of  Alabama; 

The  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  of  north  Alabama  (Coosa  basin,  etc.); 
The  regions  of  Longleaf  Pine  west  of  the  Mississippi  lliver. 

THE   ATLANTIC    TINE   REGION. 

The  Atlantic  pine  region  in  its  extent  from  the  southern  frontier  of  eastern  Virginia  to  the 
peninsula  of  Florida  embraces  the  oldest  and  most  populous  States  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  district, 
and  here  the  forests  have  suflered  most  severely  by  lumbering,  the  production  of  naval  stores,  and 
clearing  for  purposes  of  agriculture. 

Vinjinia. — The  forests  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  on  the  southeastern  border  of  Virginia  have  almost 
entirely  disappeared,  and  arc,  to  a  great  extent,  replaced  by  a  second  growth  of  Loblolly  Pine. 

Xorth  CaruUua. — Li  North  Carolina  the  area  over  which  this  tree  once  prevailed  may  1)6 
estimated  at  from  14,000  to  15,000  square  miles,  leaving  out  of  calculation  the  coastal  plain  with  its 
extensive  swamps,  wide  estuaries,  and  numerous  inlets.  From  the  northern  frontier  of  the  State 
southward,  some  distance  beyond  the  Neuse  River,  in  the  agricultural  district,  the  forest  growth 
on  the  level  or  but  slightly  undulating  pine  laud  is  of  a  mixed  character,  the  Longleaf  species  being 
largely  superseded  by  the  Loblolly  Pine,  together  with  widely  scattered  Shortleaf  Pine  and  decid- 
uous trees — White  Oak,  Red  Oak,  Post  Oak,  Black  Oak,  and  more  rarely  Mockernut  and  Pignut 
Hickory,  and  Dogwood,  In  this  section  the  lumbering  interests  are  chiefly  dependent  upon  the 
Loblolly  Pine  {Pinus  twda),  better  known  to  the  inhabitants  as  the  Shortstraw,  or  Shortleaf,  Pine 
[not  to  be  confounded  with  the  true  Shortleaf  Pine).  The  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  begin  at  Bogue 
Inlet,  extend  along  the  coast  to  the  southern  boundary  of  the  State,  and  inland  for  a  distance 
varying  between  50  and  135  miles. 

The  highly  siliceous  soil  of  these  pine  barrens  offers  but  little  inducement  for  its  cultivation; 
the  inhabitants,  therefore,  from  the  earliest  time  of  the  settlement  of  the  State  have  chiefly  been 
engaged  in  pursuits  based  on  the  products  of  the  pine  forests.    Here  the  production  of  naval 


3: 


TIMItKK    T'INES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


stores  was  lirst  ciirried  on;  losiii,  tar,  ami  pitcli  lis'iirod  in  early  colonial  times  among  the  most 
important  articles  of  export.  I  n  cDnseiineiHe,  the  forests  of  the  Loiigleaf  IMne  have  been,  with  but 
slight  exceptions,  invaded  by  turpciitiiii",  orcharding,  and  at  the  present  time  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  tlie  timber  standing  has  been  tapped  for  its  resin.  The  forests  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  in  this 
State  cover  the  largest  area  in  the  basin  of  Oape  Fear  Kiver,  with  Wilmington  the  main  port  of 
export  for  their  products.  The  exjiort  from  this  port  had  increased  fioin  i.'l,()()0,(lU(»l'eet  of  lumber 
in  ISSO,  to  nearly  4i),()lt0,()0()  annually,  on  the  average,  for  the  years  1887  to  1S!)1. 

The  forests  of  the  Lougleaf  Pine  on  the  banks  of  the  Neuse  Kiver,  in  Johnston  County  and  in 
Wayne  County,  are  almost  exhausted;  less  than  40  per  cent  of  the  timber  sawn  at  Goldsboro 
and  Dover  is  Longleaf  Pine  timber  from  that  section,  and  is  invariably  bled.  A  considerable 
number  of  the  trees  from  the  old  turpentine  orchards,  with  the  excoriated  surface  of  the  trunk 
("chip")  over  2.5  feet  in  length  and  bled  again  after  a  lapse  of  years,  show  that  they  have  been 
worked  for  their  resin  for  twenty  to  twenty-four  years  in  succession,  and  after  a  longer  or  shorter 
period  of  rest  have  been  subjected  to  the  same  treatment  continually  for  the  same  number  of  years. 
Such  old  martyrs  of  the  turpentine  orchard  are  unlit  for  lumber,  but,  impregnated  as  they  are  with 
resin,  are  used  for  piling  and  for  posts  of  great  durability. 

I'^ast  of  the  Neuse  Kiver,  from  the  upper  part  of  .lohnston  County,  in  an  almost  southern 
direction  to  Newbern,  no  Lougleaf  Pine  has  been  observed.  Single  trees  of  the  Shortleaf  Pine 
(riiiiis  echinata)  have  been  found  scattered  among  the  growth  of  deciduous  trees  which  cover  the 
ridges  between  the  Trent  and  Neuse  rivers,  and  isolated  tracts  of  a  few  acres  of  the  Longleaf  species 
are  met  with  in  the  low  Hats  of  the  same  section,  which  were  in  1891:  almost  exclusively  occupied 
by  the  Loblolly  Pine. 

As  reported  for  the  Tenth  Census,  the  amount  of  Longleaf  Pine  standing  in  North  Carolina  at 
the  beginning  of  the  census  year  was  estimated  to  be  r),2iiii,()00,o{)()  feet,  board  measure.  No  reliable 
information  could  be  obtained  as  to  the  amount  of  timber  cut  since  1880,  consequently  no  data  are 
at  hand  from  which  to  compute  the  amount  now  standing.  The  cut  for  the  year  1880  is  given  in 
the  census  report  at  108,-i()i),000  feet,  board  measure.  In  1890,  eighteen  mills  were  enumerated  as 
engaged  in  sawing  exclusively  Longleaf  Pine  timber,  almost  all  situated  in  the  basin  of  Cape  Fear 
Kiver,  with  a  daily  aggregate  cajjacity  of  475,000  feet,  board  measure.  Such  capacity  would  point 
to  au  annual  cut  of  at  least  05,000,000  feet,  board  measure. 


Stntemeiit  of  the  ahipvieiits  of  naval  stores  fvom  Wilmmglon,  N.  C. 
[From  J.  L.  Cantwell,  secretary  Wilmington  Produce  Exchange.] 


Tear. 

Spirits  of  tur 
pentine. 

Eosin. 

Crude  resin 
or  turpentine. 

Tar. 

Casks. 
125,  585 
90. 000 
88.  376 
87.  050 
78,978 
71.  145 
63,  580 
71,912 
63.  437 
69.  668 
70.289 
67.  480 
59,  263 
58.  336 
46,  o;iB 

Barrels. 
663. 907 
450,  000 
425,  925 
483,  432 
434,  376 
310,  808 
324.  942 
381,335 
246,510 
351,827 
385,  523 
349,  500 
287,  200 
274,  800 
189,  900 

Barreli. 

Barrels. 

3!  188 
31, 966 
43,  966 
35,290 
25,  002 
21,572 
18, 171 
19,  082 

ii'.m 

15.  500 
13,  500 
9,900 

5e,'ii3' 

75,544 
85  230 
70,530 
61, 195 
68, 143 
63, 163 
68,  856 
71,  S49 

67;  900 
70.  500 
45.  600 

1882                                       

1885                                                          

1801                                            

Total 

1,111.155 
$19.  000,  000 

5.  560,  051 
$10,  000,  000 

201,  020 
$391,600 

868.  323 
$1,100,000 

Totnl  value,  $30,500,000. 

Statement  of  shipments  of  litmher  ioforeUjii  and  dumeslic  ports  from  Wilmivglon,  X.  C. 


Tear. 

Feet,  tord 

Tear. 

Feet,  board 
measure. 

Tear. 

Feet,  Ijoard 
measure. 

21,  000,  000  i 
45,498.480 
40.291.140 
35,46.5,000 
30,  000,  000 

1883 

.16.000,000 
39.500,000 
41,000,000 
30,  680.  000 
40.289,000 

1890 

40, 060.  000 
29,580,160 
23,874,331 
30,595,930 
35,353  412 

1K87 

1888  .  . 

1893 

1894 

■ 

TIMBER    KEGIONS SUPPLY    AND    PRODUCTION. 


33 


kSoiitli  Carolina. — The  forests  of  Loiigleaf  Piue  in  this  State  follow  more  closely  the  coast  line, 
with  an  extension  inland  averaging  100  miles.  The  lower  parts  of  the  pine  belt,  or  the  Savannah 
region,  is  low  and  flat,  rising  but  slowly  above  the  brackish  marshes  and  alluvial  lands  bordering 
the  sea.  Traversed  by  eight  large  rivers  with  wide  estuaries  and  bordered  by  extensive  swamps 
of  Cypress,  IMagnolia,  Red  and  White  I5ay,  Laurel  Oak,  etc.,  its  area  has  been  estimated  to  be  7,000 
scjuare  miles,  4,500  scjuare  miles  of  which  are  occupied  by  swamp  lands,  including  the  grassy 
marshes  ou  the  coast.  In  the  low,  perfectly  level  pine  barrens,  with  a  soil  of  tine,  compacted, 
almost  impervious  sand,  covered  with  the  Saw  Palmetto,  the  Pond  Piue,  and  a  stunted  growth  of 
the  Cuban  and  Tjoblolly  Pine,  the  Lougleaf  Pine  is  rarely  seen,  and  always  of  dwarfed  growth.  In 
the  Hat  woods  bordering  the  alluvial  swamps,  heavily  timbered  with  Loblolly  and  Cuban  Pine,  the 
Longleaf  Piue  makes  its  appeai-ance  more  frequently,  and  finally  i)revails  almost  exclusively  on 
the  broad,  dry,  sandy  ridges,  associated  with  the  Barren  or  Turkey  Oak  {(Juerciis  mtesia't), stunted 
Spanish  Oak,  and  Upland  Willow  Oak  (Quercus  cinerea),  trees  of  smaller  size  forming  the  under- 
growth. The  timber  growth  on  these  ridges  is  rather  open  and  of  good  quality.  As  has  been 
observed  near  liidgeland,  in  the  counties  of  Beaufort  and  Hampton,  the  forests  have  to  a  large 
extent  given  way  to  the  plow,  and  along  the  railroads  they  have  been  destroyed  by  turpentine 
orcharding.  Upon  L  acre,  representing  fairly  the  original  timber  growth  of  the  forests  ou  these 
ridges,  48  trees  of  a  diameter  of  from  12  to  24  inches  at  breast  high,  with  a  height  of  from  50  to  110 
feet  were  found.  Of  these,  4  yielded  sticks  of  clear  timber  averaging  45  feet  in  length  with  mean 
diameter  of  IS  inches,  ecjual  to  2,000  feet,  board  measure,  of  tirst  class  lumber.  These  trees  varied 
in  age  from  130  to  145  years;  8  trees  yielded  sticks  of  timber  free  from  limbs  40  feet  in  length 
with  mean  diameter  of  17  inches,  equal  to  3,'JOO  feet,  board  measure,  age  on  the  average  140  years; 
12  trees  yielded  35  feet  length  of  clear  timber  with  mean  diameter  of  10  inches,  equal  to  3,000 
feet  of  merchantable  lumber,  age  from  130  to  13G  years;  8  trees  averaged  12  inches  mean  diameter, 
length  of  timber  30  feet,  equal  to  950  feet,  bbard  measure,  age  from  110  to  118  years;  4  trees 
averaged  10  inches  mean  diameter,  length  of  clear  timber  24  feet,  wood  sappy  throughout,  yielding 
200  feet  of  lumber,  age  from  SO  to  85  years. 

The  total  yield  of  merchantable  lumber  of  this  acre  would  be  9,950  feet,  board  measure,  repre- 
senting the  average  of  the  better  quality  of  these  tind)er  lands.  As  in  the  adjoining  States,  the 
forests  along  the  railroad  lines  for  a  wide  distance  have  been  subjected  to  turpentine  orcharding, 
and  but  a  small  percentage  of  the  timber  stauding  has  escaped  the  ax  of  the  "bo.t"  cutter.  The 
receipts  of  naval  stores  at  Charleston  during  the  ten  years  Irom  1880  to  1890  averaged  aunually 
57,570  casks  (50  gallons  to  a  cask)  of  spirits  of  turpentine  and  225,920  barrels  of  rosin,  with  the 
largest  receipts  in  18S0  of  00,000  casks  of  spirits  of  turpentine  and  259,940  barrels  of  rosin,  and 
the  smallest  of  40,2.53  casks  of  si)irits  in  188S,  and  149,348  barrels  of  rosin  in  1SS9. 


Tub, 


stalcment  of  the  xhipmenta  of  naval  stores  at  Charlealnn,  S.  C,  from  the  beginning  of  ISS'l  t'>  the  clove  of  the  year  1894. 
[From  the  iiunual  statements  of  the  commerce  of  Cliiirleston,  S.  C,  puulishcil  fu  tlio  Omrle.'iton  Courier.*! 


Year. 

Spirits  of 
tiirpeutiuc. 

ItOSill. 

Year. 

.Spirits  of 
turpentine. 

Ilosin. 

18S0 

1881 

1882 

Canks. 
60.  000 
;-.l,:;fO 

09,  027 
or,,  914 
04,  207 
44, 126  , 
40.375 
52,549  1 

HarreU. 
259.940 
2:il,417 
258,  440 
285,  440 

218i971 
no.  06U 
171, 154 
181.880 

Caskn. 
43, 127 

25,  909 
22,  543 
14,415 

•078,  537 
$11,874,397 

liarreU. 
149,348 
217,865 
163,818 
127,  202 
121,624 
71,  329 

2,802,619 
$5,206,714 

ISUO 

1S93 

1894 

'*     

A'aUie 

'  Tlie  annual  receipts  ou  liio  average  equal  tbc  exports. 

The  rolling  pine  hills  bordering  upon  the  flat  woods,  or  swamps,  reach  elevations  of  130  to 
250  feet  above  the  sea,  with  a  width  of  from  20  to  40  miles,  and,  as  ou  the  pine  ridges  of  the  low 
pine  barrens  mentioned  before,  the  ujdaud  oaks  form  the  sparse  undergrowth  in  the  forests  of 
Longleaf  Pine.  .  Nearly  one-third  of  the  area  (estimated  at  about  4,500  square  miles)  has  been 
opened  to  cultivatiou.  These  rolling  pine  lands  rise  on  their  northern  l>orders  abruptly  to  a 
range  of  steep  hills  over  000  feet  above  sea  level,  covered  with  a  rather  scanty  growth  of  Longleaf 
25(i0()— Xo.  13—02 3 


34 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES, 


Pine  among  the  Sbortleaf  Pine  and  fine  upland  oaks,  the  hitter  largely  prevailing.  On  the  south 
and  west  these  hills  merge  into  an  elevated  plateau  with  a  loose  soil  of  coarse  wliite  sand.  Here 
the  Lougleaf  Pine  is  found  in  its  full  i)erfectiou  and  furnishes  timber  of  excellent  quality.'  About 
IL'  per  cent  of  these  pine-clad  table  lands  are  under  cultivation,  and  about  22  per  cent  of  tlie  hills, 
with  their  generous  red  soil,  are  covered  with  a  mixed  growth  of  i)ine  and  oak:  both  of  these 
divisions  cover  an  area  of  not  less  than  4,000  sijuare  niiles.- 

The  Longleaf  Pine  timber  standing  in  South  Carolina  in  the  census  year  ISSO  was  estiiiiated 
at  5,310,000,000  feet,  board  measure,'  with  an  annual  cut  of  124,000,000  feet. 

In  1S90  forty  mills  sawing  exclusively  Longleaf  Pine  timber  have  been  reported ^  with  an 
aggregate  daily  capacity  of  about  510,()()()  feet,  taken  at  the  lowest  figure.  This  would  indicate 
for  that  year  a  cut  of  08,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  wliich  may  also  be  considered  the  average 
annual  cut  for  the  last  lifteen  years. 

The  exi)orts  of  lumber  from  Charleston,  the  chief  port,  have  since  the  year  18S0  steadily 
increased,  the  excess  in  1S90  over  the  amount  iu  18S0  reaching  o\er  4(i0  per  cent,  as  is  exhibited 
in  the  following  statement: 


Stalcineiit  of  Iiimhvi 


Charleston, 


to  foreii/ii  tind  don 
of  ISO 4. 


hifj  of  ISSO  to  the  close 


Year. 

Feet,  board 

Year. 

Feet,  boapl 

15,  4:17.  000 

'  1887-88 

45,  27(1, 1100 

50,  :.:rj,  ouo 

cr,0!i:!.:)4i 
611,  U40.  453 

1>'S"-S1 

. 

Georgia. — The  great  pine  State  of  the  South,  which  has  given  to  the  Longleaf  IMne  the  name  of 
Georgia  Pine,  by  which  this  lumber  is  known  the  world  over,  embraces  the  largest  of  the  Atlantic 
pine  forests.  At  a  rough  estimate,  these  cover  over  l!),r00  square  miles,  including  the  narrow 
strip  of  live-oak  lauds  bordering  the  seashore.  The  flat  woods  and  savannas  of  the  coast  plain  are 
from  10  to  15  miles  wide.     They  are  almost  entirely  stripped  of  their  growth  of  Longleaf  Pine. 

The  upland  pine  forests,  the  pine  barrens  proper,  or  wire-grass  region,^  embrace  over  17,000 
square  miles.  This  region  forms  a  Aast  plain,  nearly  level  except  on  the  north,  covered  exclusively 
with  Longleaf  Pine.    About  20  x^er  cent  of  these  lands  have  been  cleared  for  cultivation. 

Formerly  the  principal  sites  of  the  lumber  industry  Mere  Darien,  Brunswick,  and  Savannah. 
The  logs  were  rafted  hundreds  of  miles  down  the  Savannah,  the  Ogeechee,  the  Altamaha  and  its 
large  tributaries,  the  Oconee  and  Ocniulgee.  A  limited  quantity  is  carried  down  the  Flint  and 
Chattahoochee  rivers  to  Ajialaehicola.  The  railroads,  however,  supply  the  nulls  now  to  the 
largest  extent. 

The  forests  of  these  pine  uplands  are  in  quality,  and  originally  in  quantity,  of  their  timber 
resources  equal  to  any  found  east  of  the  Mississippi  River.  The  soil  is  a  loose  sand,  underlaid  by 
a  more  or  less  sandy  bufl'colored  or  reddish  loam.  The  almost  level  or  gently  undulating  jilain 
becomes  slightly  broken  along  the  water  courses,  and  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  are  interrupted 
by  wide,  swauipy  bottoms  which  inclose  the  streams  and  are  heavily  timbered  with  the  Loblolly 
Pine,  Cuban  I'iue,  Laurel  Oak,  Water  Oak,  Magnolia,  White  and  Red  Bay,  and  Cypress.  On 
the  better  class  of  the  pine-timber  lands  the  amount  of  marketable  timber  found  varies  between 
3,000  and  10,000  feet  to  the  acre.    The  trees  yielding  lumber  and  square-sawn  timber  of  the  highest 


'  Kirk  Hammond,  Census  Report,  Vol.  VI,  Cotton  production  of  South  Carolina. 
-Hammond,  1.  c. 

5  Report  of  Tenth  Ceuisus,  Vol.  IX. 

<  Lumber  Trade  Dirqetory,  NortUwesteru  Lumberman,  Chicago,  July,  1890. 
5 From  the  so-called  wire-grass  Aristida  strlcta,  the  most  characteristic  plant  of  the  dry,  sa 
from  western  AIal>ama  to  the  Atlantic  coast. 


TIMBER    REGIONS SUPPLY    AND    PRODUCTION. 


35 


grade  were  found  to  make  sticks  of  from  40  to  45  feet  long,  perfectly  clear  of  limb  knots,  and  18  to 
22  inches  mean  diameter,  giving  from  450  to  750  feet  of  lumber,  with  the  sapwood  from  li  to  2 
inches  wide. 

The  following  measurements  of  trees  from  a  small  tract  of  forest  untouched  by  the  ax  serve 
as  a  fair  average  sample  of  its  timber  growth: 


N umlier  of  tree. 

Diainctfr, 

Mean 

Length  of 

Total 

XumberoC 

breast  high. 

diameter. 

tin.ber. 

height. 

rings. 

r,..,.,. 

/«<•;«,. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

1 

22 

45 

93 

250 

19 

15 

40 

OB 

150 

4 

V 

:e.a;;e:;:::::::;:::":::::::::::: 

18 

15 

40     , 

03 

138 

213 

17J 

4Ui 

07 

104 

Along  the  numerous  railroad  Hues  and  the  navigable  streams  and  their  tributaries  admitting 
of  the  driving  of  logs,  the  forests  have  been  completely  stripped  of  their  merchantable  timber, 
and  the  denuded  areas  to  a  considerable  extent  are  at  present  under  cultivation.  The  magnifi- 
cent forests  on  the  Altamaha  Eiver  and  between  its  tributaries,  the  Ocmulgce  and  Oconee  rivers, 
and  also  on  the  Ogeechee  River,  have  been  practically  exhausted  and  are  utterly  devastated  by 
the  tapping  of  the  trees  for  turpentine.  In  fact,  more  than  two-thirds  of  all  the  timber  sawn  at 
present  has  been  bled.  The  timber  from  the  turpentine  orchards,  abandoned  for  years  past,  is 
being  rapidly  removed  to  the  mills,'  and  the  vast  areas  occupied  by  them  will,  within  a  short  time, 
be  almost  completely  denuded  of  the  Longleaf  I'iue,  its  place  being  taken  by  scrubby  oaks,  dwarf 
hickories,  and  Persimmon.  The  timber  is  transferred  to  the  mills  mostly  by  steam-equipped 
tramroads,  and  the  products  of  the  turpentine  distilleries  in  the  remoter  districts  are  hauled  to 
the  highw.ays  of  commerce  by  ox  teams  for  distances  of  12  miles  and  over. 

Considering  the  removal  for  their  timber  of  trees  far  below  medium  size  and  during  the  best 
period  of  their  growth,  the  de.struction  of  still  younger  trees  by  turpentine  orcharding,  and  of 
the  youug  seedlings  by  fire,  the  prospect  for  the  future  of  the  lumber  industry  and  the  renewal 
of  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  in  this  region  are  gloomy.  Many  of  the  intelligent  men  practically 
interested  in  the  timber  lands  of  this  State  aver  that  the  exhaustion  of  the  forests  of  the  Longleat 
Pine  is  a  question  of  but  a  short  space  of  time,  to  be  accomplished  belbre  another  generation  has 
passed. 

The  amount  of  timber  standing  at  the  end  of  the  census  year  1880  had  been  comi)utcd  at 
10,778,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  and  the  cut  at  272,74.'!,000  feet. 

From  the  publication  ijuoted,  it  appears  that  in  the  year  1890  there  were  88  sawmills  in  opera- 
tion in  the  great  pine  belt  of  (Georgia,  sawing  exclusively  Longleaf  Pine  timber.  On  the  basis  of 
lowest  figures  cited,  the  daily  cut  at  these  establishments  during  that  year  would  not  fall  short  of 
1,607,000  feet,  indicating  an  annual  cut  of  over  400,000,000  feet. 

Ko  statistical  returns  of  the  lumber  trade  previous  to  1884  could  be  obtained  at  Savannah, 
Darien,  or  Brunswick.  The  export  from  the  first  of  these  ports  averaged  about  73,000,000  feet, 
board  measure,  a  year,  showing  but  slight  fluctuation  during  the  period  beginning  with  1884  to 
the  close  of  1889,  when  in  the  subsequent  two  years  the  annual  average  increased  to  118,000,000 
feet,  board  measure.  The  exports  from  Darien  and  Brunswick,  averaging  82,0(t0,000  and 
85,000,000  feet,  respectively,  for  a  similar  period  of  time,  show  also  but  small  diflerences  from  one 
year  to  another.  About  30,000,000  to  33,0.00,000  feet  are  rafted  down  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochee 
rivers,  to  be  sawn  at  Apalachicola.  With  the  spread  of  the  sawmills  along  the  railroad  lines  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  pine  region,  the  shipments  of  lumber  by  rail  to  distant  Northern  markets 
increased  steadily,  until  in  1892  it  was  fouml  that  the  productionof  Longleaf  Pine  lumber  shijjped 
by  rail  to  Northern  markets  exceeded  60,000,000  feet. 


36 


riMHER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


Tubular  atntemeni  of  exportD  of  lumber  from  Saraniiah,  Darien,  Jlruiiswick,  and  St.  Mari/s  to  fo, 
and  M])ments  by  railroad  to  inland  markets  Jrom  li>S3S4  to  1S9.3-04. 


<id  domcullc  2>vrts 


Tear. 

Sav!iuii.-lli. 

Darieu. 

Brunswick. 

St,  Marys. 

Savannah, 
railroad. 

Otherwise 
by  rail. 

Flint  River. 

Total. 

18S3-84 

Feet,  JS.  M. 
82,100,000 
09.  100.  000 

08,000,0110 
(irt.  4110.  000 
711,  4011,  000 
Trf,  11111,0110 
l-.'.j,  imo.  (100 

las!  Doii,  000 

110.1(10.0011 
77.  4(10.  000 

Feet,jB.M. 
90,1110,000 
72,  900,  000 
83.0011,000 
90,000,000 
00.  000,  000 
85,  000,  000 
70,000.000 
80,  000,  000 
85,000,000 
85.  000.  OOO 
85,  000.  000 

FeeUB.:^. 

84,700,000 

■ 

-  „„„  ,„ ;; 

8o!  Wii.  Ul  0 
80,000,000 
80,000.000 

Feet,B.M: 

8.500.000 
8,5011.000 

Feet.B.il. 

Feet.B.M. 

Feet.B.M. 

Feet,B.M. 

1884-85 

1 

18S7-88 

1891-92 

50,000,000 
50,000,000 
50,  OOU,  000 

16,900,000 
16,000,000 

33,000,000 

403,200,000 
347,  000,  000 

T  t  1 

935.  800,  000 

sta.ooo.ooo 

834,200,000 

17,  000,  000 

150,  000,  000 

32,900,000 

33,000,000 

This  makes  a  grand  total  for  tbe  teu  years  euded  1894  of  2,836,000,000  feet,  board  measure, 
with  an  aggregate  value,  at  ])i'esent  export  rates  ($11  per  1,000  feet),  of  at  least  $31,19{j,000. 

In  the  production  of  naval  stores  Georgia  takes  the  lead.  By  the  statements  of  the  census 
of  1870,  only  3,208  casks  of  spirits  of  turpentine  and  13,840  barrels  of  rosin,  valued  at  $95,970, 
were  ijroduced  during  that  year  iu  the  State.  In  the  course  of  the  following  ten  years  this 
industry  progressed  steadily  and  rapidly.  In  1888  exports  from  Savannah,  at  present  the 
greatest  market  in  the  world  for  these  products,  had  increased  fo  108,000  casks  of  spirits  of 
turpentine  and  054,000  barrels  of  rosin,  of  a  total  value  of  $3,880,000. 


||(  of  export-!  of  naval  stores  from  Sar 


the  iiearn  i5o- 


Tear. 

Spirits  of 
turpeutiue. 

Rosiu. 

Year. 

Spirits  of 
turpeutine. 

Casks. 
46.  321 
64,  703 
771059 
116.127 
129,  835 
121,  028 
106,  925 
U6,  925 
168,  834 

Barrels. 
221.  421 
282.  380 
309.  834 
430,  548 
559,  625 
401,  998 
424.  490 
566.  S32 
654,  286 

Cask.'. 
159,931 
181.542 
196.  227 
196,  166 
234.  986 

26l',d81 

Barrels. 
677.  900 
716.  658 
770.  311 
758,448 
873,678 

1,032,198 
957,  027 

1880-81 

1890  91 

1893 

Total 

1887-88 

2,  475,  297 

9,637,830 

Valuod  .Tt  $49,401,031. 

The  highest  prices  for  these  stores  in  Savannah  were  obtained  iu  1880,  with  $19.50  per  cask  of 
50  gallons  for  spirits  of  turpentine  and  $2.25  per  barrel  of  rosin  of  280  pounds  gross ;  and  the  lowest 
in  1887-88,  with  the  price  of  spirits  of  turpentine  at  $14.25  per  cask  and  $1.10  per  barrel  of  rosin. 
On  close  scrutiny  of  the  prices  ruling  at  Wilmington,  for  the  eleven  years  after  1880  the  price  of  a 
cask  of  spirits  of  turpentine  averaged  $18  and  of  a  bnrrel  of  rosin  $1 .90,  lowest  grades  of  the  latter 
excluded. 

Florida. — That  part  of  the  State  between  the  Suwanee  L'iver  and  tlie  Atlantic  Coast,  as  far 
south  as  St.  Augustine,  can  be  considered  as  part  of  the  Atlantic  i)iMe  region,  and  covers  an  area 
of  about  4,700  square  miles.  In  the  basin  of  the  St.  Johns  liiver  a  large  part  of  the  land  has 
been  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  citrus  fruits.  The  principal  sites  of  the  manufi^cture  of 
lumber  in  this  section  of  the  State  are  Ellaville,  iu  jMadison  County,  on  the  Suwanee  E,iver,  and 
Jacksonville.  The  supplies  once  existing  along  the  Cedar  Keys  and  Fernandina  Railroad  are  at 
present  well-nigh  exhausted.  South  of  St.  Augustine  the  Longleaf  Pine  is  less  common  and  in 
general  inferior  in  size.  The  timber  on  the  extensive  Hat  woods  to  the  h'verglades,  covered  with 
the  Saw  Palmetto,  is  stunted  and  the  forests  are  very  open,  and  in  the  more  fertile  soils  Longleaf 
Pine  is  largely  replaced  by  Cuban  Pine.  In  the  central  section  of  the  peninsula,  with  its  numerous 
lakes,  the  Longleaf  Pine  is  often  associated  with  the  Sand  Vitw  (Pinii.s  clau.s(t),  and  hard  woods 
prevail  on  the  u])laiul  hummock  lands. 


From  the  banks  of  the  Suwaiic 
^Mississippi  this  pine  belt,  varying  I'l 


Itiver  to  the  npl 
11  90  to  125  miles 


(Is  bmderiiig  tht 


alluvial  lands 
rea  roiii;hlv  esti 


the 
ited 


TIMBER  REGIONS — SUPPLY  AND  PRODUCTION. 


37 


at  a  little  over  40,000  .square  miles.  It  presents  no  material  differences  from  tlie  Atlantic  region, 
of -whicli  it  is  a  direct  continuation,  being  similar  to  it  in  both  soil  and  climate. 

This  ea.stern  Gulf  region  is  unsurpassed  in  the  advantages  it  otters  for  tlie  development  of 
the  industries  based  on  the  products  of  the  pine  forests.  Its  genial  climate  throughout  the  year 
permits  the  nuinterrupted  exploitation  of  its  abundant  resources  of  resinous  products  and  of  timber 
of  the  best  quality.  The  fine  harbors  and  safe  roadsteads  on  the  Gulf  Coast  are  reached  by  navi- 
gable rivers,  which,  with  their  tributaries,  cross  the  lower  division  in  every  direction,  and  give 
ready  and  cheap  transportation  to  its  ports,  while  great  railway  lines  afibrd  easy  commuiiicatiou 
with  inland  markets.  This  region  thus  presents  inducements  scarcely  found  elsewhere  for  the 
investment  of  capital  and  labor  in  the  development  of  the  resources  of  its  forests. 

It  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  anything  like  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  amount  of  timber 
standing  at  present,  or  of  the  rate  of  its  consumption,  since  in  the  returns  of  the  annual  lumber 
product  that  needed  for  home  consumption  has  not  been  included. 

Western  Florida. — Placing  the  eastern  limit  of  that  part  of  Florida  to  be  considered  as 
belonging  to  the  Gulf  pine  region  at  the  lower  course  of  the  Suwanee  lUver,  the  area  included 
comjirises  about  7,200  square  miles,  exclusive  of  the  swamps  and  marshes  of  the  coast.  The 
forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  form  a  narrow  strip  along  the  course  of  the  Suwaiiee  Uiver  and  along 
tbe  coast  to  the  Appalachicola  Kiver,  covering  about  1,280,000  acres.  At  their  northern  limit 
tliey  merge  into  the  oak  and  hickory  uplands  of  middle  Florida.  Along  the  coast  they  are  sur- 
rounded by  marshes  and  swamps,  rendering  them  difficult  of  access,  consequently  they  have 
remained  untouched.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  pine  forests  between  the  Appalachicola  and 
the  Choctawhatchee  rivers.  These  have  been  invaded  to  some  extent  along  the  banks  of  the 
latter  river  to  supply  the  small  mills  situated  on  the  bay  of  the  same  name. 

The  pine  lands  of  western  Florida  rise  slowly  above  the  coastal  plain  and  form  a  vast  expanse 
of  slightly  undulating  surface.  Those  surrounding  Perdido,  Pensacola,  Elackwater,  and  Mary 
St.  Galvcs  Bay,  the  oldest  sites  of  active  lumber  industry  in  the  Gulf  region,  were  stripped  of 
their  valuable  timber  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  and  since  that  time  have  been  cut  over  again. 

The  largest  tracts  of  finely  timbered  virgin  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  are  found  in  the  undu- 
lating uplands  from  the  Perdido  and  Escambia  rivers  along  the  Alabama  State  line  to  the  banks 
of  the  Choctawhatchee  River.  East  of  this  river,  in  the  same  direction,  where  the  younger  Ter- 
tiary strata  make  their  appearance,  Longleaf  Pine  becomes  associated  with  hard  woods,  with 
southern  Spruce  Pine  added  in  the  valleys.  Since  the  opening  of  the  Pensacola  and  Atlantic 
Bailroad  considerable  (juantities  of  sawn  scjuare  timber  find  their  way  to  Pensacola  from  these 
remoter  forests. 

A  large  portion  of  the  timber  supplied  to  the  mills  along  the  coast  having  been  derived  from 
Alabama,  it  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  an  exact  estimate  of  the  products  of  the  forest  of  western 
Florida. 


of  tJi>ort  of  he 


■.  sawn  sf/Hrtrc  tituhcr,  nnd  Inmh 

Fla.,  from  1S79S0  to  1S9^'- 

(From  Hyer  &  Bro.'s  auniial  circ 


i</ii  and  domestic  porta  from  I'ciisacola, 


Tear. 

Square  hewn 
timber. 

Square  sawn 

timber  and 

lumber. 

Total. 

1879-80 

Cubic/cet. 
2. 180.  000 

4.  603,  000 

5,  479,  630 
2.  100,  000 
2,  031,  OUO 
1,  627, OOO 
1,700,000 
1.030.000 
1,  ■■83,  000 
1,  374,  000 
1,  367,  (100 
],.350.  133 
1.  488,  272 
1.440.910 

Feel,  li.  M. 
176.000,000 
209.998.000 
164,  3U5,  000 
!88, 100,  000 
194,890,000 
195,  570,  000 
215,750,600 
231,  884.  600 
238.299,400 
310,255.000 
276,  .387,  OUO 
254,125.000 
325,081,000 
252.  808,  000 

Feet.  11.  a. 
202,000,000 
264,  000,  000 
230,0110,000 
211,380,000 
219,  286,  000 
211,131,000 
228,590,000 
215,221,000 
253  699,000 
329,153,000 
292,991.000 
271,  728, 800 
294,  938.  700 
270.  2118.  000 

1880-81 

1883-84 

1884-85 

1887-88 

1888-89 

1889-90 

1890-91 

1892-93 

TotaJ 

3,534,352,300 

, 

In  tlie  shipment  of  these  products  in  ISS.j,  vahied  at  S2,30.5,.500,  there  were  471  vessels  engaged, 
of  2yi:,o',t5  tons,  of  which  370,  of  95,922  tons,  cleared  for  foreign  ports. 


38 


'IM15ER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN   UNITED    STATES. 


During  these  fourteen  years  tlie  price  of  square  tiiiibcr  and  lumber  taken  in  tlie  aggregate 
averaged  about  $12.50  ])er  1,000  feet,  board  measure.  On  this  basis  tlie  value  of  the  mill  products 
for  these  parts  of  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  amounted  to  $3,155,070  a  year. 

For  the  past  forty  years,  during  which  the  lauds  of  the  peninsular  part  and  in  middle  Florida 
have  passed  mostly  into  i)i)ssession  of  small  proprietors,  no  naval  stores  have  been  produced 
iu  this  section.  In  western  Florida,  however,  in  proximity  to  the  Louisville  and  Xashville  and 
Peiisacola  railroads,  large  areas  have  been  subjected  to  the  tapping  of  the  trees,  and  the  forests 
close  to  these  railroads  having  been  exhausted,  the  products  of  the  turpentine  stills  are  hauled 
for  a  distance  often  exceeding  10  miles  and  find  their  market  mostly  at  Mobile. 

Alabania.—0\Yiu<:^  to  the  diversity  in  geological  conditions  and  in  topographical  features 
prevailing  in  this  State,  the  distributiou  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  presents  within  its  borders 
peculiarities  not  found  elsewhere.  It  appears  iu  three  separate  regions — the  maritime  pine  belt, 
the  central  pine  belt,  and  the  pine  forests  of  the  Coosa  Basiu  and  other  outlying  forests  in  north 
Alabama. 

The  coast  pine  belt  extends  from  the  Gulf  shore  inland  for  a  distance  of  from  90  to  100  miles, 
and  has  been  estimated  to  cover  about  1 3,750  square  miles,  or  8,800,000  acres,  outside  of  the  swamps 
aud  flatwoods  of  the  coast  plain.  The  latter,  perfectly  level  or  rising  in  gentle  swells  above  the 
tidewater  marshes,  is  almost  completely  stripped  of  its  original  timber  growth.  After  its  removal 
the  Longleaf  Pine  has  largely  been  replaced  by  Cuban  Pine. 

The  rolling  pine  uplands  rise  to  a  height  of  from  -'00  to  350  feet  above  the  lowlands  of  the 
coast.  In  the  lower  part  of  this  pine  belt,  where  the  sandy  and  gravelly  dejjosits  of  the  latest 
Tertiary  strata  prevail,  the  Longleaf  Pine  forms  pure  forests,  with  the  exception  of  the  uarrow 
strips  of  hardwood  timber  bordering  the  water  courses.  This  lower  division  covers  about  4,250,000 
acres.  In  the  extent  and  quality  of  their  timber  resources  these  Longleaf  Pine  forests  can  be 
considered  equal  to  those  found  in  the  adjoining  parts  of  Florida  and  in  Mississippi,  and 
unsurpassed  by  those  of  the  most  favored  sections  of  the  Atlantic  pine  forest. 

The  following  measurements  of  trees  felled  near  Wallace,  Escambia  County,  iu  collecting 
the  material  for  the  United  States  timber  tests,  will  serve  to  represent  fairly  the  quality  of  the 
merchantable  timber  in  conformity  with  the  standard  in  vogue  at  the  mills  in  1880,  and  the  relation 
of  age  to  growth: 

Measurements  of  Jive  trees. 


dumber  of  tree. 

3>iamet6r 
breast 
liigU. 

Total 
height. 

^Sp"." 

Diameter 
below 

MeaD  diam- 
eter of 
t..he. 

Length  of 
timber  free 

Inches. 

Feet. 
106 
111 
111 
113 
113 

216 
183 

Incheg. 
18 
U 
12 

Inches. 
22 
16 

Feet. 
50 

0                                             

■      18 

J 

17     t               50 
16     1                50 

5 

182     1               13 

19.6 

111 

193 

17      1                    '^1 

" 

At  a  lumber  camp  near  Lumberton,  iu  Washington  County,  9  timber  trees  were  measured, 
showing  on  the  average  a  mean  diameter  of  17  inches,  the  clear  sticks  averaging  40.  feet  in 
length. 

Ux>on  1  acre,  selected  at  random  in  the  untouched  forests  north  of  Spriughill,  Mobile  County, 
very  open  and  free  from  smaller  trees  or  undergrowth,  16  trees  were  counted  above  16  inches  iu 
diameter  at  breast  high,  namely,  2  trees  23  inches  iu  diameter  at  breast  high,  estimated  length  of 
timber,  40  feet;  2  trees  20  inches  iu  diameter  at  breast  high,  estimated  length  of  timber,  40  feet; 
12  trees  10  to  18  inches  in  diameter  at  breast  high,  estimated  length  of  timbei',  35  feet;  which  in 
the  aggregate  would  yield  about  5,000  feet,  board  measure. 

Upon  another  acre  plat  of  the  same  quarter  section  G4  trees  above  12  inches  iu  diameter  at 
breast  highwere  found;  of  these  2  trees  measured  20  inches  iu  diameter  at  breast  high,  estimated 
length  of  timber,  40  feet;  20  trees  measured  17  inches  in  diameter  at  breast  high,  estimated  length 
of  timber,  30  feet;  3(>  trees  measured  13  inches  in  diameter  at  breast  high,  estimated  length  of 
timber,  24  feet. 


TIMBER    REGIONS SUPPLY    AND    PRODUCTION. 


39 


Upou  a  tliircl  plat  exceptionally  heavily  timbered,  45  trees  were  counted,  of  which  5  trees 
■were  25  iuches  in  diameter  at  breast  high,  the  clear  timber  averaging  50  feet  in  length;  12  trees 
22  inches  in  diameter  at  breast  high,  length  of  timber  50  feet,  and  28  trees  IG  to  IS  inches  in 
diameter,  average  length  of  timber  estimated  at  30  feet.  Such  a  stand  would  indicate  a  yield  of 
merchantable  timber  of  at  least  15,000  feet,  board  measure,  to  the  acre.  All  over  this  lower 
division  boggy  tracts  are  frequently  met  with,  in  which  tlie  sour,  black  soil  is  covered  with 
sphagnum,  or  bog  moss;  these  support  only  a  few  scattered  pines.  On  many  of  the  steeper  ridges 
the  soil  is  pure  sand  and  the  pine  growth  is  small  and  inferior,  being  largely  replaced  by  Barren 
Oak,  Sparkleberry,  and  the  evergreen  heather-like  shrub  Ceratiola  ericoides. 

In  this  lower  division  of  the  maritime  pine  belt  the  manufacture  of  lumber  and  the  produc- 
tion of  naval  stores  is  carried  on  most  actively.  These  products  find  their  outlet  chiefly  at  Mobile, 
while  more  than  one-third  of  the  lumber  exported  from  Pensacola  (to  the  amount  of  at  least  100,- 
000,000  feet  annually  for  the  past  few  years)  is  also  derived  from  this  division.  In  the  upper  half 
of  the  maritime  pine  belt,  with  the  appearance  of  the  outcrops  of  limestones  and  limy  marls  of  the 
Lower  Tertiary  (Eocene)  formation,  the  country  becomes  more  broken,  with  steeper  hills  and  wider 
valleys,  and  a  change  iu  the  character  of  the  flora  takes  place,  particularly  manifest  in  the  nature 
and  distribution  of  the  tree  growth.  In  the  fertile  vulleys  and  on  the  lower  flanks  of  the  hills 
broad-leaved  trees,  mostly  Post  Oak,  Black  Oak,  Mockernut,  Bitternut,  Pignut,  and  Magnolia 
l^revail,  interspersed  with  Shortleaf  Pine,  Loblolly  Pine,  and  Red  Cedar — the  Longleaf  Pine 
occupying  sporadic  i:)atches  of  drifted  sands  and  pebbles.  On  the  steep  and  frequently  wide 
ridges  capped  by  these  deposits,  and  on  the  rugged  hills  of  the  buhrstone  and  flinty  cherts  this 
tree  forms  the  principal  growth,  and  is  in  the  openings  more  or  less  associated  with  broad-leaved 
trees.  From  this  commingling  of  cone-bearing  and  deciduous  trees  and  the  alternations  of  pine 
forest  and  oak  woods,  this  upper  division  has  been  designated  as  the  region  of  mixed  growth, 
which  at  a  rough  estimate  can  be  said  to  cover  about  5,000  square  miles. 

In  the  deep  soil  of  light  loam  and  strong  loamy  sands  the  Longleaf  Pine  attains  a  splendid 
growth  and  the  number  of  large  trees  on  a  given  area  is  greater  than  found  in  the  lower  division. 
The  following  measurements  of  5  trees  felled  for  test  logs  fairly  represent  the  average  dimensions 
of  the  timber  from  these  lulls  in  the  vicinity  of  Thomasville,  Clarke  County: 


Measurements  of  five  trees. 


Xumber  of  tree. 

Eings  in 
stump. 

breast 
bigb. 

Diameter 
below 

oSI 

Mean 
diameter 
of  timber. 

.fuJtt 

Total 
height  of 

202 

210 
160 

no 

171 

Inches. 
20 
21 
22 

Inches. 
15 
14 

Inches. 
1? 

Feet. 
45 
40 
40 

tl 

39 

.... 

103 
115 
110 
111 
92 

106.2 

16       i           19 

ig 

Average 

18.2 

i          21.2  j           15.4 

Many  of  the  trees  of  larger  size  were  found  affected  by  wind-shake  in  the  direction  of  the 
rings  of  growth  (ring-shake),  in  many  instances  impairing  greatly  the  quality  of  the  timber.  The 
forests  on  these  hills  are  open,  with  a  comparatively  small  number  of  young  trees.  Upon  1  acre 
selected  at  rapdom  4(i  trees  were  counted;  of  this  number  were  found  4  trees  of  a  diameter  of  25 
inches  breast  high,  and  the  length  of  timber  about  40  feet;  10  trees  of  a  diameter  of  22  inches 
breast  high,  and  the  length  of  timber  about  3G  feet;  20  trees  of  a  diameter  of  18  inches  breast 
high,  and  the  length  of  timber  about  30  feet;  G  trees  of  a  diameter  of  15  inches  breast  high,  and 
the  length  of  timber  about  25  feet. 

On  the  average  each  one  of  these  trees  would  yield  about  400  to  450  feet,  board  measure.  On 
another  acre  44  trees  were  found  dittering  in  their  average  dimension  but  slightly  from  the  above, 
and  indicating  a  yield  between  18,000  and  19,000  feet  of  lumber  to  the  acre.  In  this  upper  part  of 
the  coast  pine  belt  lumbering  and  turpentine  orcharding  have  not  developed  to  any  great  extent, 
owing  to  its  inaccessibility.     However,  where  railroads  traverse  the  section,  the  manufacture  of 


40 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN   UNITED    STATES. 


lumber  is  carried  ou  extensively,  tlie  output  goiug  to  Xortbern  markets,    Miicli  of  tlie  heavy  bewu 
timber  that  is  exported  from  Mobile  and  Peusacola  is  furnished  by  this  section. 

In  collecting  the  statistics  on  the  lumbering  interests  in  the  maritime  pine  belt  of  Alabama 
the  information  kindly  furnished  by  firms  engaged  in  the  sawmill  business  or  the  lumber  trade  has 
chiefly  been  relied  upon.  The  annual  production  was  arrived  at  by  multiplying  the  average  daily 
output  reported  by  200,  the  assumed  number  of  working  days  of  the  year.  From  these  data  it 
appears  that  during  the  year  1893  the  daily  output  of  the  2.5  points  reported  from  amounted  in  the 
aggregate  to  about  7C8,00:i  feet,  or  to  192,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  for  the  year.  This  iigure  can 
be  said  to  represent  the  average  of  the  animal  production  for  the  past  three  years.  To  this  amount, 
at  a  low  estimate,  85,000,000  feet  of  nmnd  timber  are  to  be  added,  cut  iu  Alabama  and  sawn  in 
western  Florida,  including  the  hewn  square  timber  shipped  from  the  State  to  Pensacola,  thus 
swelling  the  present  annual  production  of  lumber  and  sipiare  timber  in  the  maritime  pine  belt  of 
Alabama  to  a  total  of  about  277,000,000  feet,  board  measure.  The  statement  of  the  annual  exports 
of  these  products  from  Mobile  by  water  and  by  rail  for  the  past  fourteen  years  will  aptly  illustrate 
the  steady  increase  of  the  lumbering  interests  during  this  period. 


Sltdemtnt  ofcrporlx  of  siiuare 


iiiiher,  h:  wii  and  suwii,  and  of  lumber  shipped  from  Mobile  to  forei 
Ike  year  1ST9-80  to  the  end  of  the  year  1S04. 


lid  domeslic ports fr 


Tear. 

tin.!rrewn 
and  sawn. 

Lumber. 

Totallnmber  1 

and  square     1 

timber. 

Value. 

Cubic  feet. 
745,  000 

1,  725.  000 

1 147!  825 

Feet.  S.M. 
13,572,000 

IS.  IGl.  000 

(.l,^K.' »'...'. 
79,  304,  505 
67,  209,  745 

Feet,  B.  M. 
22,525,000 

38,872,001) 

162',  Coisi  7U0 
126,  084,  500 

$280,825 
400,348 
710,  012 
582,  000 

636',  953 

588,  148 

641,215 

677,  804 

1,  081,  828 

1,201,934 

1,415,000 

1.695,000 

1,590,900 

1,  270,  000 

1884-85 

1880-87 

1887-88 

1893-94 

The  first  statement  of  the  production  of  naval  stores  in  Alabama  is  that  reported  to  the  census 
of  1850,  mentioned  in  that  year  as  of  a  value  of  $17,800.  In  1870  the  production  had  increased 
to  8,200  casks  of  spirits  of  turpentine  and  53,175  barrels  of  rosin,  valued  at  $280,203.  In  1873  the 
receipts  in  the  market  of  Mobile  had  fully  doubled,  amounting  to  nearly  20,000  casks  of  spirits  of 
turpentine  and  to  from  75,000  to  100,000  barrels  of  rosin,  besides  1,000  barrels  of  tar  and  pitch, 
of  a  total  value  of  $750,000.  The  largest  production  was  reached  in  1875,  when  the  receipts  reached 
a  value  of  $1,200,000,  up  to  the  present  only  approximated  in  1883  with  43,870  casks  of  spirits  of 
turpentine  and  200,025  barrels  of  rosin,  valued  at  $1,109,700.  Since  1J-"8S  a  steady  decline  in  the 
receipts  of  these  products  has  taken  place,  due  to  the  exhaustion  of  the  supi^lies  near  the  commer- 
cial highways. 

Table  of  exports  of  n  aval  st  oris  from  Mobile  diirimj  the  period  of  1SS0-1S94. 


Year. 

Spirits 

Eosin. 

Total 
value. 

Tear. 

Spirit-s 

turpen-        Rosin, 
tine. 

Total 

value. 

1879-80 

1880-81 

1881-82 

18S2-83 

1883-84 

1884-85 

iK?:::::: 

Cash!. 
25,209 
25,  224 
30,  937 
43, 870 
4i;804 
41,713 
38,  733 
40, 149 

Barrels. 

158,  482 

hi  688 
175,  817 
182,955 

1893-94;;!!;;!; 

Casln.          r.arnls. 

;,   -               •       ,J      "$535!69b'" 

-J    i:j              -T.'ijil         458,002 
18.  OU"  '•           Ki.  120  1      3.55,  180 
24, 091             85, 619         453, 666 

LOXGLEAF  PINE  IN  ALABAMA. 


41 


PIXE    BELT   OF    ALABAMA. 


The  middle  portion  of  the  State  is  crossed  from  its  eastern  boundary  nearly  to  its  western, 
with  a  decided  northern  trend  along  the  western  border,  by  a  belt  of  drifted  loamy  sands,  pebbles, 
and  light  loams  covered  in  the  eastern  and  central  parts  witli  an  almost  continuous  forest  of  Long- 
leaf  Pine,  interrupted  only  by  strips  of  hard  wood  which  occupy  the  bottom  lands.  In  its  eastern 
extent  the  Longleaf  Pine  becomes  associated  with  upland  oaks,  hickories,  and  Shortleaf  Pine,  the 
Longleaf  Pine  being  entirely  replaced  in  the  northern  extension  of  this  belt  by  the  latter  species. 

This  region  of  gravelly  hills,  as  it  is  designated  in  the  agricultural  reports,'  is  200  miles  in 
length,  5  to  35  miles  in  width,  and  extends  over  about  2,000  square  miles.  In  the  sections  where 
the  forest  consists  almost  exclusively  of  Longleaf  Pine  the  stand  of  timber  is  heavy  and  of  fine 
quality.  Operators  claim  for  these  timber  lands  a  yield  of  from  5.000  to  6,000  feet  of  merchantable 
timber  to  the  acre,  excluding  all  trees  under  12  inches  diameter. 

Ever  since  the  opening  of  the  great  railroad  lines  leading  to  Northern  markets  the  manufacture 
of  lumber  in  this  central  pine  belt  has  been  carried  on  with  unabated  activity.  In  18S0  not  less 
than  80,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  were  transported  by  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  Railroad 
alone,  mostly  to  the  great  Northwestern  centers  of  commerce.  In  1880  the  production  declined  to 
50,000,000  feet.  At  present  most  of  the  older  mill  sites  have  been  abandoned  and  a  few  new  ones 
established  in  other  localities.  Colonel  "Wadsworth  reports  12  mills  in  operation  located  along 
the  Louisville  ami  Nashville  IJailroad,  with  an  output  of  a  little  over  40,000,000  feet  a  year  on  the 
average  of  the  past  few  years.  To  this  is  to  be  added  the  production  of  the  few  mills  on  the  IMobile 
and  Birmingham  Railroad,  which  will  increase  the  present  production  in  the  central  pine  belt  to 
about  50,000,000  feet  a  year. 


THE    FOUESTS    OI'    LOXGI.EAF    PINE    ]N    NORTH 


Forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  prevail  with  more  or  less  interrujjtion  in  the  basin  of  the  Coosa  River, 
principalfy  on  the  beds  of  flinty  pebbles  and  light,  sandy  loam  which  follow  the  upper  course  of 
the  river  from  the  base  of  the  Lookout  Mountain  range  near  Gadsden  to  a  short  distance  beyond 
the  State  line  in  Floyd  County,  Ga.,  where  the  Longleaf  Pine  finds  its  northern  limit  in  about  34'^ 
north  latitude,  at  an  elevation  above  the  sea  of  about  600  feet.  With  the  reappearance  of  the 
above  deposits  south  of  Calhoun  County  the  pine  forests  extend  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  valley 
south  to  Childersburg.  On  the  isolated  ridges  of  old  Silurian  sandstone  (Potsdam),  and  the  met- 
amorphic  region  adjoining,  the  Longleaf  Pine  is  scattered  and  stunted  and  ascends  to  an  eleva- 
tion of  nearly  2,000  feet  above  the  sea.  In  proximity  to  the  mineral  region  the  rugged  hUIs  and 
mountain  sides  have  been  completely  denuded,  the  pine  having  been  cut  for  charcoal  to  supply  the 
blast  furnaces.  In  the  valleys  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  are  of  average  density  and  the  timber 
is  considered  of  excellent  quality,  particularly  in  the  northern  part  of  the  valley  in  Etowah  and 
Cherokee  counties.  On  the  lower  hills  the  timber  is  less  abundant  and  somewhat  inferior  in  size. 
The  measurements  of  five  trees  felled  in  the  hills  near  Renfroe,  Talledega  County,  can  be  said  to 
fairly  represent  the  average  quality  of  this  pine  timber.  The  undergrowth  in  the  open  forest 
covering  the  low  ridges  and  the  narrow  valleys  is  dense,  consisting  of  Blackjack,  Spanish  Oak, 
Pignut,  and  Bitternut  Hickory. 

Measitremeiils  ofjire  h'ee-a. 


Number  ,.f  tree. 

^r 

uPeifsTblgL 

Mean 
diamater. 

^^i"' 

Total 
height  of 

237. 
238. 
239. 
240. 
241. 

170 
215 
■.M16 

1     ^-^- 

!      il 

21 
20 

Inehee. 
12 
17 

18 
18 
15 

Feel. 
50 
35 
45 

45 

50 

Feet. 
95 
95 
108 
112 
109 

Avera  e 

178 

20 

10 

45 

104 

E.  A.  Smith:  Agricultural  Resources  of  Alabama,  Vol.  V.     Reports  of  Geological  Survey  of  Alabama. 


42  TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

The  estiuction  of  Lougleaf  Pine  iu  the  forests  of  north  Alabama,  as  far  as  economic  vahie  is 
concerned,  appears  to  be  certain.  The  dense  undergrowth  of  deciduous  trees  suppresses  completely 
the  second  growth  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  iu  the  closed  forest  as  well  as  in  the  openings.  On  the 
uiountain  slopes  a  young  pine  is  i-arely  seen,  no  tree  being  left  to  serve  for  the  future  dissemination 
of  the  species,  and  the  few  seedlings  sporadically  springing  up  are  invariably  destroyed  by  the 
firing  of  the  herbage  one  year  after  another. 

The  output  of  the  mills  at  Gadsden  and  the  mills  in  Talladega  County  along  the  Birmingham 
and  Atlantic  Eailroad  combined  appears  scarcely  to  exceed  50,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  on  the 
average  per  year.  A  fine  forest  of  Longleaf  Pine  is  found  in  Walker  County,  strictly  confined 
within  an  isolated  patch  of  silicious  pebbles  and  sands,  said  to  cover  about  60,000  acres.  Distant 
about  10  miles  from  the  nearest  railroad  this  forest  has'been  but  slightly  invaded,  only  to  supply 
a  small  local  demand. 

Summary  statement  nf  sliipmintu  of  lumber  and  xqnarf  timber  from  clikf  centers  of  production  in  Alabama  diiriiuj  the  year 

ISO?. 

Fcet.n.M. 

Mobile  exports  to  foreign  ports,  coastwise,  and  shipments  by  rail ' 143,  8(10,  OOO 

Estimated  cut  in  Alabama  and  .sawn  in  western  Florida 85,000,  000 

Transported  by  rai  1,  mostly  to  Northern  markets  = 9,5,  200,  000 

Central  pine  belt" .■ 51,000.000 

Coosa  basin  < 50,000,000 

Total 425,  000,  0(K) 

Mississippi  — What  has  been  said  of  the  forests  of  the  maritime  pine  belt  in  Alabama  ajjplies  in 
general  to  the  Scime  region  in  Mississippi.  The  coastal  plain  above  the  extensive  grassy  marshes 
lining  the  seashore  and  the  wide  estuaries  of  the  streams  covers  a  larger  area,  being  from  10  to  20 
miles  in  width  and  embracing,  at  a  rough  estimate,  about  728,000  acres  of  the  16,410  square  miles 
within  the  limits  of  the  pine  belt.  The  broad,  scarcely  perceptible  swells,  with  a  soil  of  sandy 
loam  and  loamy  sand,  were  originally  well  timbered,  the  widely  spreading  depressions  with  soil  of 
fine,  compacted  sand,  poorly  drained,  bearing  a  sparse  and  inferior  timber  growth.  The  timber 
produced  on  these  flat  woods,  or  "  pine  meadows,"  as  they  are  aptly  called  in  the  adjoining  section 
of  Alabama,  being  of  slow  growth,  is  hard  and  of  fine  grain,  frequently  with  the  fibers  of  the  younger 
wood  contorted  and  of  varied  tints  of  color.  This  so-called  curled  pine  is  susceptible  of  high  finish 
and  is  much  appreciated  for  fine  cabinet  work.  There  is  comparatively  little  valuable  timber  left 
in  this  coastal  iilain.  The  remainder  serves  largely  for  the  making  of  charcoal  and  cord  wood  for 
the  Xew  Orleans  market. 

The  rolling  pine  lands,  rising  suddenly  above  the  plain,  almost  exclusively  covered  by  the  Long- 
leaf  Pine,  cover  (roughly  estimated)  about  7,712,000  acres.  The  western  limits  of  these  forests  are 
difficult  to  define,  numerous  outlying  tracts  being  found  to  exlend  into  or  even  beyond  the  region 
of  the  loamy  hills.  The  region  of  mixed  growth,  characterizing  the  ui)per  division  of  the  maritime 
pine  belt  in  Alabama,  enters  the  State  in  the  shape  of  a  triangle,  with  the  base  along  the  Alabama 
State  line  from  Bucatunna  to  Lauderdale  and  its  apex  near  Brandon,  in  Rankin  County.  The 
generous  soil  of  the  arable  lauds  in  this  region  is  mostly  under  cultivation.  The  forests  of  Longleaf 
Pine  covering  the  steep  hills,  rather  remote  from  the  high  roads  of  commerce,  have  been  as  yet  but 
little  exploited.  About  12,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  of  lumber  are  shipped  annually  by  the 
way  of  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  Itailroad,  mostly  to  Mobile,  from  this  region  of  mixed  growth. 

From  the  information  th;it  could  be  obtained,  it  app<'ars  that  the  cut  of  Longleaf  Pine  timber 
in  this  State  on  the  average  for  the  past  three  years  reached  between  422,000,000  and  12.5,000,000 
feet.  The  chief  center  of  the  lumbering  industry  is  located  above  the  Pascagoula  Eiver,  at  Scran- 
ton  and  Mosspoiut,  where  it  has  made  great  progress  during  the  past  thirteen  or  fourteen  years. 
In  1880,  60,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  were  shipped  to  foreign  and  domestic  ports,  which  in  the 

'  Annual  statement  of  commerce  of  Mobile,  Mobile  Register,  September  1,  1892,  Compiled  from  returns  made 
to  the  Mobile  Board  of  Trade, 

^Production  of  mills  south  of  Montgomery,  etc, 

■'Production  of  imills  on  Louisville  and  Nashville  Railroad,  north  of  Montgomery  to  C'alera,  by  Colonel  \Va<ls- 
worth. 

■'  Production  of  mills  on  Southern  Railway,  north  of  Selma  to  Stanton,  by  M.  Hanson. 


LONGLEAF    PINE    FORESTS    OF    MISSISSIPPI. 


43 


year  1892  bad  increased  to  127,000,000.  Comparatively  much  larger  increase  is  noticeable  in 
the  shipments  by  rail  to  inland  markets.  By  the  reports  courteously  furnished  by  the  auditor  of 
the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  iu  Chicago,  in  18S0, 12,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  reached  Northern 
markets  by  this  line,  which  in  1888  had  risen  to  62,000,000,  with  a  falling  ofi'  iu  the  succeeding 
year  to  52,000,000.  In  1892  the  shipments  increased  again  to  78,240,000,  and  reached  in  1893 
181,424,000  feet,  board  measure. 

With  the  opening  of  the  New  Orleans  and  Northeastern  Railroad,  in  1883,  the  lumbering 
industry  took  an  active  start  in  the  virgin  pineries.  In  1892  fourteen  mills  are  on  record,  with  a 
daily  capacity  of  not  less  than  400,000  feet;  this  amount  corresponding  fully  to  the  actual  output 
for  1891  as  well  as  1892.  According  to  Mr.  Eicli,  of  Eichburg,  in  consequence  of  the  depression 
during  the  year  1893,  the  output  was  reduced  about  one-half. 

The  following  table  of  partial  data  regarding  annual  shipments,  made  during  the  thirteen  years 
ending  with  1893,  from  the  chief  centers  of  production  .shows  clearly  the  constant  increase  of  the 
lumbering  industry  since  the  close  of  the  year  1880: 


Tabular  slatemcnt  oflKmlershipjycd 


ally  111/  icaier  and  bi/  rail  fri 
189.2-93. 


■  the  centers  of  2>ro(Jiiction  in  Misshifijiin,  1S79-S0, 


Year. 

1      ""S-!?"'^ 

Pearl  Eiver 
Basiu. 

Kew  Olleaus 
and  Northeast- 
ern Eailroad. 

Illinoia  Cen- 
tral Railroad. 

i  ^^i^;ot„ 

y,;t.  li.  J/. 

Feet.  B.  31. 

Feet.  li.  M. 
12,000,000 
28;  000,  000 
36,  000,  000 

62,  000,  000 
52,  000, 000 
64,000,000 

I88:j_si 

07  :;(r-   ir  n 

*'        ■ 

1887-88 

1888-89 

1         107,000,000 

36,000,000 

55,  000,  000 
(a) 

1890  91 

170  000  000 

35,000,000 
36,000,000 

78,  240,  000 
181,424,000 

KECAPITDLATIOX  FOR  1891-92. 

Pascagoiila  Eiver 127, 

Pearl  River  Basin 36 

ininoia  Central  Railroad 78, 

Xew  Orleans  and  Kortheastern  Railroad 60, 

Mobile  and  Ohio  Railroad 12 

Other  points 20, 


Feet. 
000. 000 
000,  ooo 


From  this  amount  are  to  be  deducted  about  18,000,000  feet  of  lumber  received  from  Mobile  to 
comi^lete  cargoes,  and  12,000,000  feet  of  timber  cut  on  the  western  frontier  of  Alabama,  and  finding 
an  outlet  at  Pascagoula  by  the  Escatawjia  Eiver,  leaving  a  round  300,000,000  feet,  board  measure, 
for  the  cut  in  Mississippi  in  1892,  against  108,000,000,  the  cut  reported  to  the  census  in  1880. 

"With  the  exhaustion  of  the  forests  along  thePascagoula  and  E.scatawpa  rivers  andafewiioints 
between  these  streams  and  the  Pearl  Eiver,  which  had  been  accomplished  before  the  beginning  of 
1880,  the  naval  store  industry  remained  almost  dormant  in  the  State  until  it  began  to  receive  a 
new  start  bj'  the  opening  of  the  New  Orleans  and  Northeastern  Eailroad.  The  ]iroduction  of  the 
distilleries  along  this  road  can  be  said  to  average  about  ir),000  casks  of  spirits  of  turpentine  and 
7."). 000  barrels  of  rosin  annnally  since  1890,  which  arc  mo.stly  disposed  of  in  the  New  Orleans 
market. 

Uasfcrit  Loni.sHutH. — Forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  cover  the  upper  part  of  eastern  Louisiana  to  the 
extent  of  about  3,880  square  miles.  Their  western  limit  might  be  said  to  follow  the  Amite  Eiver, 
but  can  not  be  clearly  defined,  since  these  forests  toward  the  west  pass  gradually  into  the  mixed 
growth  of  Shortleaf  Pine,  oaks,  and  hickories  on  the  uplands  which  border  the  bottom  lands  of 
the  Mississippi  Eiver.  Slightly  undulating  flat  woods  cover  fully  one-fifth  of  the  area,  and,  with 
a  somewhat  loamy,  porous  soil,  support  a  better  timber  growth  than  is  generally  found  iu  the  flat 
pine  barrens  of  the  plain.  Owing  to  their  proximity  to  the  coast,  these  forests  have  been  exten- 
sively invaded.  The  i>ine  hills  embrace  about  1,019,200  acres.  Their  forests  have  remained  almost 
intact,  their  resources  having  been  drawn  upon  only  along  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  line  and 
the  tributaries  of  the  Pearl  Eiver. 


44 


TDrr.EK    PINES    OF    THE  SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


Ill  1890  seven  sawmills  were  reported,  with  a  diiily  capacity,  iu  the  aggregate,  of  about  120,000 
feet,  board  raeasuro.  It  can  safely  be  assnmed  that  their  annual  output  would  not  exceed  15,000,000 
feet,  board  measure.  The  products  of  these  mills  find  their  market  chietly  at  j^ew  Orleans.  In 
former  years  a  considerable  quautit}-  of  nrfval  stores  was  produced  in  St.  Tammauy  Parish,  while 
at  present  only  a  few  turpentine  orchards  are  worked  in  tlie  ui)i)er  districts. 


The  importance  of  the  pine  forests  in  the  western  Gulf  region  can  not  be  overestimated, 
considering  the  develojjment  of  the  immense  timberless  area  beyond  their  western  limit.  The 
rapidly  increasing  population  of  the  Western  plains  depends  chiefly  upon  them  for  the  supply  of 
the  material  needed  to  build  up  the  homes  of  civilization. 

The  forests  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  west  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver,  as  in  regions  so  far  considered, 
are  geographically  limited  to  the  sands  and  gravels  of  the  latest  Tertiary  formation.  They 
make  their  first  appearance  in  Louisiana  above  the  great  alluvial  plain  in  the  uplands  bordering 
the  valley  of  the  Ouachita  and  follow  its  course  for  50  miles,  then  extend  west,  skirting  Lake 
Catahoula  and  the  alluvial  lands  of  the  Red  River.  These  pine  forests  to  the  north  of  this  river 
cover  an  area  estimated  at  1,025,000  acres,  extending  northward  for  a  distance  averaging  55 
miles.  Toward  their  Jiorthern  limit  the  forests  pass  gradually  into  a  mixed  growth  of  deciduous 
trees  and  Shortleaf  Pine.  In  the  center  of  this  region  the  pine  ridges  alternate  with  tracts  of 
White  Oak  and  Hickory.  Tending  toward  the  Red  River,  the  i)ure  forest  of  Longleaf  Pine  which 
covers  the  undulating  uplands  is  unbroken  and  has  up  to  the  pi'esent  been  but  slightly  invaded 
by  the  ax.  On  the  low  hills  of  this  northern  division  of  tlie  pine  belt  of  northwestern  Louisiana 
the  forests  are  somewhat  open,  and  are  composed  of  trees  of  the  first  order  as  regards  their 
dimensions,  the  well-drained,  warm,  and  deep  soil  of  sandy  loam  being  highly  favorable  to  tlieir 
development.  This  fact  is  clearly  shown  in  the  following  statement  of  the  ages  and  dimensions  of 
six  trees  felled  for  test  logs : 

Minaiiremeiitx  of  tix  trees. 


Number  of  tree. 

Einga  on 
stump. 

breast  high. 

Diameter 
helow 
crown . 

Mean 
diameter. 

Lenjrth  of 
timber. 

Total 

height  of 

tree. 

v 

270 
158 
155 
170 
105 

Inches. 
32 

2J 

Inches. 
22 
20 
18 
13 
13 

Inches. 

20 
22 
ISl 

Feet. 
46 
50 
50 

'5 

■      Feet. 
123 
127 
122 
117 
118 

176 

179 

Average 

171 

22 

17.0 

10 

U 

117 

Upon  1  acre  of  the  same  plat,  with  the  timber  standing  rather  above  the  average,  38  trees 
were  found.  Of  these  there  were  14  of  24  inches  diameter  at  breast  high,  estimated  length  of 
timber,  45  feet;  0  of  1!)  inches  diameter  at  breast  high,  estimated  length  of  timber,  40  feet;  fl  of 
17  inches  diameter  at  breast  high,  estimated  length  of  timber,  35  ieet;  9  of  13  inches  diameter  at 
breast  high,  estimated  length  of  timber,  30  feet. 

In  the  opinion  of  exi)erts,  the  average  yield  of]  acre  of  these  pine  lands  at  a  fair  estimate  is 
not  less  than  G,000  feet,  board  measure. 

According  to  the  statements  of  Mr.  Sues,  at  Levins  Station,  50,000,0(10  feet,  board  measure, 
were  shipped,  in  1802,  from  the  mills  of  this  section. 

South  of  the  Red  River  bottom  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  continue  unoroken  to  the  Sabine 
Eiver  and  soutli  to  the  treeless  savannas  of  the  coast  in  Calcasieu  Parish,  their  eastern  boundary 
parallel  with  the  eastern  boundary  of  that  parish.  Roughly  estimated,  these  ibrests  cover  an 
area  of  about  2,068,000  acres.  From  the  marshy  lowlauds  of  the  coast  to  the  upper  tributaries 
of  the  Calcasieu  River,  up  to  Ilickory  and  Beck  with  creeks,  the  country  is  poorly  drained,  almost 
perfectly  level,  with  a  highly  retentive  and  somewhat  impervious  clay  subsoi'l.  In  t^oiiseciuence, 
these  pine  flats  are,  tor  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  more  or  less  covered  with  water.  These 
low,  wet  pine  forests  were  stripped  some  years  ago  of  all  their  merchantable  timber,  and  only  a 
comparatively  small  number  of  trees  of  less  than  12  inches  in  diameter  were  left  standing.     On 


DISTKIHUTION    OF    LONGLEAF    PINE    IN    LOUISIANA. 


45 


tbose  abandoned  timber  lauds  a  youiig-  pine  is  rarely  seen,  the  seeds  shed  in  the  fall  being  apt 
to  rot  in  the  water-soaked  soil,  or,  if  they  happen  to  germinate,  the  seedlings  are  drowned  daring 
the  winter  rains.  On  the  lands  rising-  gently  above  the  Hat  woods,  with  the  ridges  still  low  and 
wide  and  often  more  or  less  imperfectly  drained,  Lougleaf  Pine  is  found  of  an  exceedingly  fine 
growth.  The  trees  in  the  dense  forest  are  tall  and  slender,  and  their  timber  is  eipialed  only  by 
the  timber  of  the  same  class  growing  in  the  valley  of  the  Neches  River,  in  Texas. 

The  following  measurements  of  five  trees  felled  for  test  logs  in  the  forests  in  the  ui»per  part 
of  Calcasieu  Parish,  between  Hickory  and  Beckwith  creeks,  will  serve  as  a  fair  re])resentatiou  of 
the  timber  growth  on  these  low,  broad  ridges: 

MeasKiements  of  five  trees. 


Kumberoftrce. 

Kinss  on       Diameter  |   '^l^Tl"'  1       Mean 
stump.      breastbigh.|     ^^^J^         .Uameter. 

^^^f|bJgl,f 

Inches.          Ivchcs.          Inches. 
190                   28                   23                   24 
195                   23                    16                   19 
190                     -n                     U     1                17 

Feel.       >       Feet. 
50                  110 
50                  1?7 
40                   117 
40                   102 
37                   127 

203 

2U4 

205 

180                     10     '                 15                     17 
107                     iC                     13     '                U 

Average 

185                     21                     10                     18                     43                   118 

Upon  1  acre,  selected  on  the  back  of  a  low  swell  which  might  be  said  to  represent  the  average 
of  the  timber  standing,  44  trees  in  all  were  counted.  Of  these,  3  trees  measured  25  inches 
diameter  at  breast  high,  with  a  length  of  clear  timber  estimated  at  'M  feet;  6  trees  measured  23 
inches  diameter  at  breast  high,  with  a  length  of  clear  timber  estimated  at  50  feet;  10  trees 
measured  18  inches  diameter  at  breast  high,  with  a  length  of  clear  timber  estimated  at  40  feet; 
14  trees  measured  14  inches  diameter  at  breast  high,  with  a  length  of  clear  timber  estimated  at 
30  feet,  corresponding  in  the  aggregate  to  somewhat  over  15,000  feet,  board  measure. 

On  another  acre  considered  tirst  class,  rather  level  laud,- the  soil  fresh  to  wet  throughout  the 
year,  72  trees  were  counted.  Of  this  number,  14  were  found  27  inches  diameter  at  breast  high, 
with  an  estimated  length  of  timber  of  50  feet;  5  were  found  24  inches  diameter  at  breast  high,  with 
an  estimated  length  of  timber  of  50  feet;  13  were  found  23  inches  diameter  at  breast  high,  with  au 
estimated  length  of  timber  of  50  feet;  8  were  found  21  inches  diameter  at  breast  liigh,  with 
au  estimated  length  of  timber  of  40  feet;  10  were  found  20  inches  diameter  at  breast  high,  with  an 
estimated  length  of  timber  of  40  feet;  11  were  found  18  inches  diameter  at  breast  high,  with 
an  estimated  length  of  timber  of  40  feet;  11  were  found  18  inches  diameter  at  breast  high,  with  au 
estimated  length  of  timber  of  30  feet. 

According  to  these  tigures  the  timber  standing  on  this  acre  would  amount  to  not  less  than 
35,0(t0  feet,  board  measuie. 

The  chief  site  of  the  lumber  industry  of  western  Louisiana  is  at  Lake  Charles.  Accordiug 
to  the  information  furnished  by  Mr.  George  Lock,  of  Lockport,  La.,  the  annual  output  of  the 
sawmills  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Charles  for  the  years  1892  and  1803  averaged  about  154,000,000 
feet,  board  measure,  all  shipped  West  and  Northwest.  It  can  be  assumed  that  over  one-half  of 
the  lumber  sawn  at  Orange,  in  'Jexas,  is  cut  on  the  eastern  banks  of  the  Sabine  River,  which 
amount  has  to  be  credited  to  the  cut  of  Louisiana. 

.SHm/MrtCi/  of  tin  prodiictiou  of  Loiiyteuf  I'iiie  tiimlitr  in  the  Stult-  of  LoiiiHiaiia  in  ISO:;. 

F.pt,  n.M. 

Parislics  east  of  the  Mississii)i)i,  about  2.5,000,000 

Parishes  north  of  the  Red  Kiver .5(5,000.000 

To  the  Sabine  River,  sawn  at  Lake  Charles 1.51.000,000 

Sawn  at  Orange,  Tex.,  (•stiiii:ite(l 40.  (too.  000 

Total 27.5.000,000 

Texas. — The  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  extend  from  the  Sabine  west  to  the  Trinity  River  and 
from  the  grassy  savannas  of  the  coast  region  north  to  the  center  of  Sabine,  San  Augustine,  and 


46 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATEi^ 


Angelina  counties,  and  include  au  area  of  about  2,890,000  acres.  In  amount  and  (juality  of  the 
timber  these  forests  are  unsurpassed  and  are  only  equaled  by  the  forest  of  the  adjoining  region 
iu  Louisiana.  Toward  their  southern  borders  the  country,  like  the  pine  fiats  of  southwestern 
Louisiana,  is  perfectly  level  and  poorly  drained,  with  the  soil  water  soaked  for  a  greater  part  of 
the  year.  Thfse  flats  have  been  almost  completely  stripped  of  their  merchantable  timber.  North 
of  Nona  the  surface  rises  gradually  above  the  water  level  in  broad,  low  swells,  and,  being  underlaid 
by  strata  of  stifl'  loams,  is  more  or  less  deficient  iu  drainage.  The  intervening  wide  flats  are 
frequently  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  large  slirubs  and  small-sized  trees,  consisting  of 
various  species  of  hawthorn  [CmUcgus  crusgnlU,  G.  virldix,  C.  mollis,  C,  berberidifolki),  the 
Deciduous  Holly  {Ilex  deeidua),  Dahoon  Holly  {Ilex  caroliniana),  Privet  {Adelia  acuminatd),  plane 
trees,  and  magnolias.  These  impenetrable  thickets  are  common,  and  often  cover  many  square 
miles,  like  the  so-called  Big  Thicket  in  the  lower  part  of  Hardin  County,  said  to  be  from  10  to  1") 
miles  wide,  either  way.  The  growth  of  Longleaf  Pine  which  covers  the  gentle,  wide  swells,  is 
dense,  of  fine  proportions,  and  of  remarkably  rapid  development.  The  average  age  of  five  trees 
felled  northwest  of  Nona,  15  to  25  inches  in  diameter,  is  but  little  over  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  as  the  following  measurements  show : 

Mtaauremcnis  of  five  trees. 


— "-- 

Kings  on 
stump. 

Diameter 
breast  high. 

Mean 
diameter. 

Length  of 

Total 
height  Of 

240 
208 
105 
113 
94 

Inchee. 
26 

18 

21 
15 

Inche,. 

20 
19 
16 
18 
12 

Feet. 
40 
50 
50 
45 
40 

Feet. 
110 
101 
113 
110 
107 

190 

^ 

1-''      1                    -HI      1                    17                          J-                        1(11 

In  this  region,  owing  to  the  direct  communication  of  several  railroad  lines  with  the  great 
centers  of  trade  in  the  North  and  with  the  treeless  plains  of  the  far  West,  the  manufacture  of 
lumber  has  made  a  wonderful  progress  during  the  past  twelve  years.  In  1880  the  cut  of  Longleaf 
Pine  in  this  State  has  been  estimated  at  00,450,000  feet.  From  Information  received  from  jiartics 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business,  the  cut  during  the  year  1S92  can  safely  be  estimated  at  440,000,000 
feet.  The  centers  of  lumber  production  are  Orange  and  Beaumont,  but  a  great  amount  is  cut  at 
the  mills  along  the  several  lines  of  railway  passing  through  this  region. 

Output  (if  Longleaf  Pine  lumber  hi  Texas  diiriim  the  year  189:^. 

Feet,  B.  M. 

Orange  ( inclusive  of  40,000,000  of  feet  derived  from  Calcasieu) 45,  000,  000 

IJeaumout 75,000,000 

Sabine  Valley,  Texas  and  Nortbern  Railroad •. 157,000,000 

Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  Railroad 143,000,000 

Houston,  Kansas  and  Texas  Railroad 20,000,0011 

Total 440,000,00(1 

For  the  renewal  of  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  iu  this  region  there  is  as  little  hope  under  their 
present  management  as  in  the  adjoining  region  in  Louisiana.  In  this  cold,  wet  soil  the  seeds  find 
but  a  poor  chance  for  germination,  and  the  surviving  plantlets  soon  succumb  to  the  same  cause. 
In  the  pine  flats  seedlings  are  rarely  observed  among  the  tall  broom  sedge  grasses  {AndnqxHion), 
which,  under  the  influence  of  light  and  a  damp  soil,  thrive  luxuriantly  in  the  flat  woods  denuded 
of  their  timber  growth,  imparting  to  them  the  aspect  of  waving  meadows  or  savannas. 

PRODUCTS. 

VALUE    AND    USES    OK    THE    WOOD. 

The  wood  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  is  hardly  surpassed  by  any  of  our  timber  trees  of  economic 
importance,  and  is  practically  unsurpassed  by  any  member  of  its  own  order  in  the  qualities  which 
are  required  for  purposes  of  construction,  thus  taking  the  first  place  among  its  congeners. 


VALUK  AND  USES  OF  THE  WOOD.  47 

The  timber  from  the  damp  Hat  woods  of  the  coastal  ])hiiu  east  of  the  Mississi])pi  River,  with 
a  soil  of  almost  pure,  fine,  closely  compacted  saud,  is  of  slow  growth  and  generally  of  the  finest 
grain,  often  exhibiting  that  irregularity  known  as  "curly  pine."  In  the  perpetually  damp  to  wet 
soil  of  the  pine  Hats  in  southwestern  Louisiana  aud  in  Texas,  with  a  deep  retentive  subsoil  richer 
in  nutritive  elements,  causing  a  better  and  quicker  development  of  the  tree,  the  wood  is  of  a  more 
open  grain.  Owing  to  the  excellent  qualities  of  the  wood  of  Lougleaf  Pine,  its  use  in  the  various 
mechanical  arts  and  industries  is  as  extensive  as  it  is  manifold.  Its  greatest  value  rests  in  its 
adaptability  for  heavy  constructions— in  naval  architecture,  for  masts  and  spars;  in  civil  engi- 
neering, for  the  building  of  bridges,  viaducts,  trestlework,  and  for  supports  in  the  construction  of 
buildings.  Large  quantities  of  long  and  heavy  sticks  of  square  timber  sawed  or  hewn  for  such 
purposes  are  shipped  to  the  British  ports  and  to  the  dockyards  of  the  European  continent,  with  a 
constantly  increasing  demand. 

In  the  building  of  railroad  cars,  where  great  strength  and  elasticity  is  needed,  the  timber 
of  Longleaf  Pine  is  preferred  to  any  other.  For  this  purpose  sticks  from  3G  to  -12  feet,  10  by  1-! 
inches,  are  requii-ed,  free  from  blemish. 

Enormous  quantities  of  the  younger  timber  of  this  tree  are  cut  every  year  to  serve  for  cnlss- 
ties,  used  by  the  railroads  not  oidy  in  the  pine  regions,  but  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  The 
demand  for  these  ties  forms  a  constant  and  increasing  draft  upon  the  forest.  The  ties  delivered 
are,  on  the  average,  8i  feet  long,  9  inches  wide,  aud  7  inches  thick,  and  must  be  all  heartwood  and 
free  from  blemish.  The  trees  selected  for  this  purpose  are  from  15  to  IG  inches  in  diameter,  and 
preferably  only  the  butt  cuts  are  accepted.  On  an  average  10  cross-ties  are  cut  from  1  acre,  each 
tie  representing  a  log  which  would  make  at  least  75  superficial  feet  of  lumber.  Since  such  a  tic, 
ready  for  the  roadbed,  contains  not  more  than  50  feet,  board  measure,  it  will  be  readily  seen  what 
an  enormous  waste  i-esults  from  tliis  practice. 

On  the  damp,  sandy  tracts  of  the  lower  South,  such  ties  will  last  five  or  six  years,  and  3,000 
ties  are  needed  for  1  mile  of  road.  Hence,  for  the  construction  of  the  3,2-10  miles  of  railroad 
traversing  the  forest  of  Longleaf  Pine  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  nearly  10,000,000  ties  have 
been  required,  which  being  renewed  every  six  years  involves  an  annual  cut  of  110,000,000  feet, 
board  measure,  to  which  must  be  added  the  amount  exported  to  other  regions. 

In  the  Southern  States,  the  West  Indies,  many  places  on  the  coast  of  Mexico,  aud  Central  and 
South  America  the  lumber  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  forms  the  chief,  if  not  the  only,  material  in  the 
construction  of  houses.  For  similar  purposes  considerable  (luantitie^  are  of  late  years  shijjped  to 
Northern  markets.  East  and  West,  replacing  in  many  cases,  at  least  in  paits  of  the  buildings,  the 
lumber  of  the  White  Pine,  on  account  of  its  increasing  scarcity.  The  finegrained  and  "curly" 
varieties  of  Longleaf  Pine  lumber,  by  their  beauty  and  the  high  polish  of  which  they  are  susceptible, 
begin,  of  late  years,  to  take  a  place  among  the  higher-priced  kinds  of  wood  for  ornamental  inside 
work. 

The  importance  and  value  of  Longleaf  Pine  lumber  as  a  material  for  constructions  can  not  be 
better  evidenced  than  by  the  fact  that  little  less  than  1,500,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  or  about 
one-third  of  all  the  lumber  manufactured  in  the  South,  is  being  exported  from  Southern  ports  annu- 
ally to  domestic  aud  foreign  ports,  besides  furnishing  almost  the  only  material  used  at  home  in  the 
construction  of  dwellings  and  all  kinds  of  buildings.  It  also  supplies  material  for  furniture,  as 
well  as  fuel,  both  in  the  form  of  firewood  and  charcoal,  and  its  exploitation  attbrds  the  means  of 
subsistence  to  thousands. 

Lightwood.—Wlntnevev  the  sapwood  of  the  tree  is  laid  bare  copious  exudation  of  resin  takes 
place  and  the  surrounding  wood  becomes  charged  with  it.  Thus  the  wood  of  the  trunks  of  the 
trees  tapped  for  the  extraction  of  their  resin  soon  becomes  charged  with  this  along  the  scarified 
surface,  and,  as  with  the  evaporation  of  water  from  the  dead  wood,  the  resinification  proceeds  and 
the  wood  increases  in  weight  and  durability.  In  low,  damp  places  particularly  this  process  takes 
place  more  extensively.  This  resin-charged  wood  is  termed  lightwood.  The  lightwood  timber,  con- 
sidered very  durable  when  exposed  to  alternating  conditions  of  moisture  and  dryness,  is  much 
preferred  for  posts,  etc.  Being  highly  inflammable,  it  serves  for  torches  and  kindling,  and  hence 
its  name.  Of  late  years  a  profitable  industry  has  been  started  to  utilize  the  resinous  stumps  of 
abandoned  orchards  as  kindling  material  by  cutting  the  same  close  to  the  ground  and  then,  veneer 


48  TIMBliR    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

fasliion,  into  long,  narrow  strips  threefourtbs  of  an  inch  thick,  which  are  subsequently  steamed 
and  rolled  iu  small  bundles  to  make  a  convenient  i)ackage  for  shipment.  The  knots,  limbs,  roots — 
particularly  "fat,"  i.  e.,  highly  charged  with  resin — are  used  in  the  making  of  tar. , 

Charcoal  burning. — Where  a  market  is  found  the  trees  lefc  standing,  after  the  removal  of  the 
larger  timber  lit  for  sawlogs,  are  burned  for  charcoal.  This  industry  is  carried  on  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent  iu  the  mineral  regions  to  supply  the  blast  furnaces  operated  for  the  manufacture  of 
charcoal  iron.  Large  areas  of  the  forests  of  the  Longleaf,  covering  the  hills  in  north  Alabama, 
have  been  entirely  denuded  of  their  tree  covering  to  meet  the  demands  for  such  i>uri)ose. 

Fuel  value. — The  air-dry  wood  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  is  much  esteemed  for  fuel;  containing  but 
a  small  percentage  of  ash — not  over  0.25  per  cent — with  a  small  amount  of  water,  and  a  dense  and 
close  liber,  as  indicated  by  its  high  specific  gravity,  its  fuel  value  is  necessarily  high.  Being  also 
easily  inflammable,  it  is  preferred  where  quick  and  intense  heat  is  required,  as,  for  instance,  in 
bakeries,  brick  kilns,  potteries,  etc.,  and  in  the  raising  of  steam  for  stationary  engines  on  steam- 
boats and  railroad  locomotives  throughout  the  pine  region,  where  mineral  coal  can  not  be  cheaply 
obtained. 

It  can  safely  be  asserted  that  among  the  trees  of  the  same  order  there  is  found  -no  other 
eipially  rich  in  resin.  The  manufacture  of  naval  stores  from  the  resin  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  forms 
one  of  the  most  widely  developed  industries  in  the  pine  forests  of  the  coast  pine  belt  of  the  South- 
ern States,  and  is  scarcely  less  important  than  the  manufacture  of  its  lumber.  A  full  account  of 
these  industries  will  be  found  iu  the  accompanying  appendix.  Concerning  the  manufacture  of 
tar,  i)itch,  tar  oils,  and  other  products  of  destructive  distillation  of  the  wood  and  of  rosin  oil,  see 
the  Peport  of  the  Chief  of  Forestry,  1892,  page  356,  etc. 

I'HODUCTS   OBTAINKU    KliOM   THK    LEAVES   OI''   LONGLEAF    PINE. 

The  green  leaves  of  the  tree  furnish  by  distillation  an  essential  oil  of  balsamic  odor  closely 
resembling  spirits  of  turpentine.  The  so-called  j)ine  wool  is  made  from  their  cellular  tissue,  being 
treated  with  a  strong  alkaline  solution  at  boiling  heat,  the  remaining  fiber  being  cleaned  and 
carded.  This  pine  wool  is  used  in  upholstery,  and  is  said  to  be  of  value  as  an  antiseptic  dressing 
for  wounds.  Of  late  years  it  is  manufactured  into  various  kinds  of  textile  fabrics.  One  fabric 
is  a  carpet  which  resembles  cocoa  matting  somewhat,  but  is  closely  woven  and  is  naturally  of  a 
rich  brown  color  and  very  durable.  This  industry,  only  recently  established,  has  already  met 
such  success  that  the  manufacturers  have  added  twenty-nine  looms  to  their  work. 

No:HEN('LATrRi:    AND    CLASSIFICATION. 

This  tree  was  first  described  by  Miller  in  the  year  1768  under  the  name  of  Pinu.f  2>nl>i>>iris. 
The  younger  Michaux  substituted  for  it  the  more  appropi-iate  one  of  J'inu.s  aiistraluj  under  which 
name  it  was  described  by  succeeding  writers  and  generally  known  to  botanists  of  recent  date. 
To  satisfy  the  law  of  priority,  the  name  given  by  Michaux  has  recently  been  dropped  and  the  ok? 
one  reinstated,  iu  the  Catalogue  of  Xorth  American  Forest  Trees,'  published  in  the  ninth  volume 
of  the  census  reports  of  1880.     (See  vernacular  nomenclature  in  introduction.) 

UOTANICAL   DESCRIPTION   AND    MOUl'Mc  il.i  m  .  V  . 

Leaves  three,  iu  a  long  light-colored  sheath;  coiiiiiionly  I'rom  9  to  13  (somel;imes  11  to  l.j)  inches  long;  of  a  bright 
green  color  and  closely  set  iu  brush-like  clusters  at  the  cuds  of  the  stout  branches.  Cones  large,  dark  tan  colored,  6  to 
souietiuus  8  inches  long  and  2  to  2i  inches  iu  diameter  when  closed,  5  to  (i  inclijes  when  open;  scales  about  2  inches 
long  and  one-half  to  1  inch  wide— rather  uniform  iu  width— somewhat  thickened  at  the  ends,  and  bearing  a  rather 
delicate  iucurved  prickle;  seed  large,  slightly  triangular,  three-eighths  to  seven-sixteenths  of  an  inch  long  and  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch  wide;  often  with  two  or  three  longitudin.al  ridges  on  one  face;  whitish,  with  few  or  abundant 
brown  specks;   wing  IJ  to  2  indies  long  and  of  a  glossy  brownish  to  deep  purple-brown  cidor. 

The  most  cousjiicuous  and  distinguishing  featui-e  of  this  species  is  the  silvery  ihU-k  terminal 
bud,  or  rather  the  bud-like  clusters  of  the  young  leaves  inclosed  in  their  finely  iringcd  subtending 
scales.  Its  branches  are  rough,  covered  with  tiie  bases  of  the  imbricated  leaf  scales,  the  elongated 
silvery  fringes  having  fallen  off. 

'A  catalogue  of  Norih  American  Forest  Trees,  exclusive  of  Mexico,  by  C.  S.  Sargent. 


BOTANICAL    DESCRIPTION.  49 

BOOT,    STEM,    AND   BUANCH   SYSTEM. 

The  Long-leaf  Piue  attains  a  height  averaging  100  feet,  rarely  exceeding  110  feet,  with  a 
diameter  breast  high,  when  fully  grown,  varying  between  20  and  3G  inches,  rarely  more.  The 
tall,  straight,  very  gradually  tapering  trunk  arises  from  a  massive  taproot  which,  in  favorable 
situations,  penetrates  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  from  12  to  15  feet,  and  sometimes  much  more.  It 
has  several  stout,  comparatively  short  lateral  roots,  which  assist  the  tree  in  its  hold  by  slant- 
ing deeply  into  the  ground,  and  some  of  greater  length  are  placed  more  or  less  near  the  surface. 
Its  crown  is  open  and  elongated,  of  irregular  shape,  about  one  half  to  one  third  of  its  height. 
The  stout  limbs  are  rarely  over  20  feet  in  length,  twisted  and  gnarled  and  sparingly  branched. 
The  trunk  is  covered  with  a  reddish-brown  bark,  one-fourth  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  thick, 
furrowed  throughout  its  full  length,  crossed  horizontally  by  deep  fissures,  and  scaling  oft'  in  thin, 
bluish,  almost  transparent  ihombic  Hakes. 

LEAVES   AND   THEIR   MODIFICATIONS. 

Like  all  the  pines,  this  species  produces  during  various  stages  of  its  growth  seven  different 
modifications  of  leaves  as  recognized  by  botanists,  all  more  or  less  specific  in  character: 

(1)  Cotyledonary,  or  seed  leaves  (first  leaves  of  the  embryo),  which  soon  wither  and  disappear 
(PI.  VII,  a,  h).  (2)  Primary  leaves  succeeding  the  former  immediately  on  the  main  axis  (PI.  VII,  c), 
which  either  wither  or  later  on  are  transformed  into,  or  succeeded  by,  more  or  less  permanent 
bracts  or  scales  covering  the  branches  (PI.  V,  «).  (3)  The  secondary  or  foliage  leaves  rising  from 
the  buds  produced  in  the  axils  of  the  primary  leaves  or  of  the  scales  by  which  they  are  represented 
(PI.  VII,  d),  forming  the  permanent  foliage  of  the  tree,  with  three  leaves  in  one  sheath.  (4)  The 
bud  scales  forming  the  sheaths  of  the  foliage  leaves  (PI.  IV,  1>,  c,  c1)  at  base.  (5)  Involuci-al  bracts 
of  the  male  flower  (PI.  V,_/').  (6)  luvolucral  scales  of  the  female  inflorescence  (ament)  (PI.  V,  e). 
(7)  The  bracts  which  support  the  carpellary  scale  bearing  the  seed  (PI.  V,  /»).' 

The  primary  leaves,  which  succeed  the  cotyledons  on  the  i)rimary  axis,  are  in  form  and  structure 
true  leaves.  They  are  softer  than  the  final  foliage  leaves,  have  a  broad  base,  are  rounded  on  the 
dorsal  side  and  not  channeled,  the  whitish  transparent  margins  being  finely  \)ut  distinctly  den- 
ticulate. It  is  rare  that  secondary  leaves  proceed  from  the  axils  of  these  chlorophyll-bearing 
primary  leaves.  With  the  more  frequent  appearance  of  the  ordinary  leaves,  these  primary  leaves 
wither  and  henceforth  appear  as  triangular  scale  like  coriaceous  persistent  bracts,  with  broad, 
hyaline,  long-fringed  edges,  in  the  axils  of  which  the  undeveloped  branchJets  are  produced  bearing 
the  secondary  or  foliage  leaves. 

Tlie  cidorophyll-beariiig  primary  leaves  exhibit  a  simple  structure.  The  flbro-vascular  bundle 
is  single,  embedded  in  a  wider  ring  of  large  cells  free  from  chlorophyll,  and  the  resinous  ducts  fewer 
iu  number,  one,  or  rarely  more  than  two,  being  irregularly  situated  in  the  clilorophyll-beariug 
parenchymatous  tissues,  and  mostly  external,  i.  e.,  close  to  the  thick  epidermis.  But  few  of  these 
leaves  are  formed  after  the  appearance  of  the  foliage  leaves,  and  a  few  of  them  persist  thi-oughout 
the  first  season.-  The  cataphyllary  leaves  forming  the  sheath  or  the  foliage  leaves  are  iu  this 
si)ecies  composed  of  eight  successive  jiairs  of  bud  scales;  those  of  the  first  pair  are  blunt,  fiat, 
deeply  concave  and  coriaceous,  with  sharp  edges;  the  others  are  more  membranaceous  and  with 
ringed  edges,  the  closely  interwoven  edges  entwining  the  base  of  the  fascicle.  In  the  secondary 
leaves  the  very  numerous  stomata  form,  on  both  sides,  regular  longitudinal  rows.  Parallel  with 
these,  at  regular  distances  between  them  and  embedded  iu  the  parenchymatous  tissue,  are  found 
bundles  of  numerous,  elongated,  thick-walled  cells,  the  so-called  hypodermal  or  strengthening  cells. 
The  resin  ducts,  not  over  five  in  number,  described  bj  Engelniann  as  internal,  have  been  found  in 
the  specimen  examined  rather  parenchymatous,  invariably  so  on  the  dorsal  side. 

Three  of  the  secondary  or  true  foliage  leaves  are  united  into  one  bundle,  inclosed  at  the  base 
by  a  persistent  sheath  from  one-half  inch  to  an  inch  in  length,  formed  by  the  bud  scales  or 
cataphyllary  leaves.  On  the  older  trees  the  leaves  are  rarely  over  8  inches  in  length,  but  during 
the  periods  of  most  active  growth  they  are  found  12  to  18  inches  long.  They  are  finely  serrulate, 
rounded  on  the  back,  channeled,  and  obtusely  triangular  in  cross  section. 

'  George  Engelmauu  :  Revision  of  the  Genus  Pinus.     Transactions  of  the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science,  1882. 
•Engelmann:  Revision  of  Genus  Pinus.  Trans.  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science,  1882,  p.  5. 

25666— No.  13—02 4 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  IV. 

Fig.  fl,  branch  showing  the  terminal  spring  shoot  ol'  the  season  with  characteristic,  large  silvery  white  winter 
bud ;  the  bundles  of  leaves  arise  from  the  axils  of  the  leaf-bracts  of  the  last  two  seasons,  the  tirst  leaves  of  the  second 
year  already  shed;  h,  detached  bundle  of  mature  leaves  with  sheath;  c,  d,  scales  of  the  sheath,  uiagniBed  three  and 
nine  times;  e,  transverse  section  through  base  of  leaf  bundle  showing  imbrication  of  sheath  scales,  maguihed  30 
diameters;  /,  transverse  section  of  an  immature  leaf,  magnitied  30  diameters;  g,  transverse  section  of  a  mature  leaf, 
magnified  45  diameters,  showing  the  microscopic  structiire  (as  pointed  out  for  V.  echinuta,  f,  f) ;  h,  longitudinal  sec- 
tion of  the  dorsal  side  of  a  mature  leaf  showing  two  rows  of  stomata  and  the  errated  edge,  magnitied  45  diameters. 
50 


Bulletin  No.  13,  Division  of  F 


PiNUS  PALUSTRIS:    BUD  AND   LEAF. 


BOTANICAL    DESCRIPTION.  51 

Owing  to  the  sbedding  of  the  older  leaves  at  the  end  of  the  seeoud  year  and  to  the  short 
annual  growth  of  the  axis,  the  leaves  on  the  older  trees  are  eonspicuously  crowded  into  dense 
tufts  or  tassels  on  the  tips  of  the  branchlets. 

The  high  development  of  (he  organs  of  transpiration,  as  shown  by  the  immense  number  of 
breathing  eells,  clearly  indicates  that  forests  of  the  Longleaf  Pine,  and  in  fact  of  most  evergreens, 
are  not  less  important  than  forests  of  deciduous  trees  in  intiuencing  atmospheric  conditions, 
particularly  when  it  is  considered  that  in  tiie  former,  clothed  with  perpetual  foliage,  this  function 
suffers  but  little  interruption  of  its  activity. 

I  LORAL  ORGANS. 

The  male  and  female  flowers  are  sometimes  found  ou  the  same  branch;  they  are,  however, 
more  frequently  situated  on  different  branches,  the  male  Howers  mostly  on  the  lower  (PI.  V,  h). 
The  male  flowers  consist  of  a  slender  axis,  the  staminodial  column,  around  which  the  numerous 
naked  anthers  are  densely  crowded,  forming  a  cylindrical  catkiu-lilie  flower  from  2  to  lii  inches 
and  over  iu  length,  surrounded  at  the  base  by  a  calyx  like  involucre  consisting  of  twelve  ovate 
somewhat  leathery  bracts,  of  which  the  lowest  pair  or  exterior  ones  are  laterally  compressed, 
strongly  keeled,  and  much  smaller.  The  connective  of  the  dark-rose  purple  anthers  spreads  out 
in  a  semiorbicular  denticulate  crest;  a  number  of  these  male  flowers  are  crowded  around  the 
base  of  this  year's  shoot,  forming  a  dense  whorl.  After  the  discharge  of  the  pollen  the  withered 
flowers  remain  for  several  mouths  ou  the  tree.  The  pollen  remaining  for  a  long  time  suspended 
in  the  air  is  often  wafted  to  widely  distant  localities.  In  the  latitude  of  Mobile  its  dischaige 
takes  place  during  or  shortly  after  the  second  week  of  March. 

The  feuiale  flowers  (see  PI.  V,  a)  are  united  iu  a  subterminal  oval,  erect,  short-stalked  catkin, 
which  is  also  surrounded  by  an  involucre,  the  bracts  being  more  numerous,  longer,  more  acuminate, 
and  membranaceous  than  those  of  the  male  flower. 

The  carifellary  scales  bearing  ovules  are  oblong  oval,  tipiied  with  a  strong  reflexed  iwiut,  and 
are  almost  hidden  by  the  thin  flat  scales  by  which  they  are  subtended,  which,  however,  thej^  soon 
surpass  in  size.  During  the  first  year  the  young  cones  make  but  slow  progress  in  their  growth. 
Ou  the  opening  of  the  second  season  they  are  scarcely  over  an  inch  long;  during  the  summer  they 
increase  rapidly  and  reach  their  full  size  during  the  latter  part  of  the  fall.  The  cones  are  placed 
horizontally  on  the  branches  below  the  terminal  bud  (subterminal),  sessile,  slender,  conical  with  a 
slight  curve  and  from  G  to  S  inches  long;  of  a  dull  tan  color;  the  thick  scales  are  light  to  dark 
chestnut  brown  on  the  inside,  2  inches  or  slightly  over  in  length,  and  bear  on  their  exposed  end, 
or  apophysis,  a  small  but  prominent  tubercle  armed  with  a  short  recurved  prickle  (see  PI.  VI  . 
Plate  VI  exhibits  truly  and  fully  the  open  cone  and  especially  the  tine  markings  on  the  apophysis 
of  the  scale.  The  cones  are  shed  in  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  of  the  second  year,  rarely 
remaining  to  the  following  spring.  On  breaking  from  the  branches  they  leave  the  lowest  rows  of 
the  scales  behind. 


The  seeds  are  strongly  convex,  oblong,  oval,  less  than  a  half  inch  long,  and  surroumlcd  by  the 
long  oblique  wing  (see  PI.  VI).  The  shell  is  whitish,  at  the  front  face  marked  by  three  prominent 
ridges,  flat,  smooth,  and  darkly  spotted  on  the  posterior  side.  It  incloses  an  oily  kernel,  covered 
by  a  white  seed  coat;  rich  in  nutritious  matter  and  palatable,  the  seeds  furnish  in  fruitful  years 
an  abundance  of  mast.  They  are  shed  before  the  fall  of  the  cone  during  dry  weather,  most  abun 
dantly  during  the  latter  ])art  of  the  fall  lend  of  October  or  November  the  best  time  for  their 
collection),  and  in  a  lesser  degree  during  the  winter.  They  germinate  easily  after  reaching 
maturity,  and  it  often  liappens,  in  wet,  sultry,  weather,  that  they  begin  to  s[)rout  before  leaving 
the  cone,  iu  which  event  the  whole  crop  is  destroyed.  This,  together  with  the  killing  of  the  flowers 
by  late  frosts,  seems  to  be  one  of  the  main  causes  of  failure  of  the  sefd  crop  so  frequently  observed. 
From  the  behavior  of  the  seed  just  mentioned  and  from  its  oleaginous  character  it  is  to  be  inferred 
that  the  period  of  time  during  which  the  seeds  retain  the  power  of  germination  under  ordinary 
circumstances  is  but  a  short  one,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  seeds  a  little  over  a  year  old  have  been 
known  to  germinate. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATKS  V  AND  VI. 

Plate  Y.  Fig.  a,  l)ranch  with  two  I'eujale  aments  (sfcoiid  week  of  March),  at  the  end  of  terminal  young  shoot 
of  the  season  densely  covered  with  limhriate  silvery  hract  snbtending  the  leaf  Inids  which  are  still  hidden  in  their 
axils ;  below  are  two  immature  cones  of  one  season's  growth  and  mature  closed  cone  of  two  seasons' growth  (October) ; 
I),  branch  with  the  male  inflorescence,  the  leaves  cut  away  to  show  the  dense  cluster  of  male  flowers  which  closely 
surround  the  apex  of  the  young  shoot;  c,  female  ament  with  basal  scales  forming  the  calyx  like  involucre;  d,  d,  d, 
carpellary  or  seed-bearing  scales  of  female  flowers  more  advanced,  lateral,  ventral,  and  dorsal  views — magnified  5 
diameter.s;  e,  detached  male  flower  with  basal  involucral  scales,  before  opening  (dehiscence);  /,  male  flower,  after 
discharge  of  the  jiollen;  ;/,  three  detached  anthers,  lower  sides  showing  longitudinal  slits  of  the  pollen  sacs  just 
opening;  lateral  view  of  an  eft'ete  anther;  another  seen  from  upper  side  showing  the  transverse  semilunar  crest — 
all  magnified  5  diameters;  h,  detached  female  flower  seen  from  above;  the  cuspidate  carpellary,  or  seed  scale,  bears 
two  strongly  bifid  naked  ovules  as  its  base ;  i,  female  flower  viewed  from  below,  dorsal  side ;  the  bract  almost  covers 
the  carpellary  scale,  leaving  only  the  tip  of  the  latter  ahd  the  cusps  of  the  ovules  visible;  magnified  5  diameters. 

Plate  VI.  Fig.  a,  mature  open  cone,  after  shedding  seed;  6,  cone  scale  seen  from  lower  or  dorsal  side  showing 
the  apophysis  with  low  umbo  and  small,  weak  prickle;  c,  cone  scale  sien  from  upper  or  ventral  side  with  seed  in 
place;  d,  seed,  upper  side;  r,  seed  detached  from  c,  lower  side;  /,  seed  detached  from  wing,  upper  side,  and  </  the 
same  seen  from  lower  side. 
52 


PlNUS  PALUSTRIS:    MALE  AND   FEMALE   FLOWERS. 


Bulletin  No.  13,  Divrsion  of  Foresir 


PlNUS  PALUSTRIS:    CONE  AND  SEED. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    WOOD.  53 


The  wood  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  is  heavier  aucl  stronger  than  that  of  anj'  other  pine  offered  in 
the  market.  The  average  weight  of  the  kiludry  wood  is  about  38  pounds,  that  of  the  lumber  where 
the  outer  lighter  portion  of  the  log  is  largely  cut  away  about  40  pounds,  per  cubic  foot.  The 
kiln-dry  wood  of  the  butt  weighs  about  45  pounds  per  cubic  foot;  that  of  a  log  50  to  60  feet  from 
the  ground  only  about  33  pounds,  a  decrease  of  weight  (and  with  it  of  strength)  of  about  25  per 
cent.  Similarly  the  wood  of  inner  portions  of  a  log  are  15  to  20  per  cent  heavier  than  those  of  the 
outer  portions;  or,  in  other  words,  the  wood  laid  on  when  the  tree  is  young  is  heavier  than  that 
laid  on  when  it  is  old,  quite  contrary  to  the  common  belief  which  seems  to  associate  the  light 
sapwood  color  of  the  young  sapling  with  inferior  material.  The  wood  shrinks  about  10  per  cent  of 
its  volume  in  drying,  about  6  to  7  per  cent  along  the  rings  (tangentially),  and  3  to  4  per  cent  along 
the  radius;  seasons  easily  and  without  great  injury.  As  in  other  pines,  the  greatest  amount  of 
water  is  contained  in  the  sapwood,  varying  from  30  to  50  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  the  fresh  wood, 
while  the  heartwood  contains  but  about  20  per  cent. 

In  its  stiffness  and  strength  the  wood  is  remarkable.  The  avei'age  of  a  great  number  of  tests 
indicates  for  the  dry  wood  of  Longleaf  Pine  an  elasticity  of  1,540,000  pounds  per  square  inch; 
strength  in  cross  breaking  10,900 pounds  per  square  inch;  strength  in  couipression,  6,8.50  pounds 
per  square  inch;  strength  in  tension,  15,200  pounds  per  square  inch;  strength  in  shearing,  706 
pounds  i)er  scpiare  inch. 

In  its  structure  the  wood  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  resembles  that  of  the  other  Southern  pines. 
Sapwood  and  heartwood  are  well  defined ;  on  the  fresh  cross  section  the  former  is  light  yellowish 
white,  the  latter  a  yellowish  brown;  drops  of  limpid  resin  ooze  from  every  resin  duet  in  the  sap- 
wood,  the  surface  of  the  heartwood  remains  dry  (exceptions  only  in  "lightwood").  The  sapwood 
contains  much  more  water,  but  is  far  less  resinous  than  the  heartwood.  This  latter  contains  5  to 
10  per  cent  of  resin  (1  part  turpentine  to  15  to  20  parts  resin),  while  in  the  former  the  resin 
rarely  exceeds  2  per  cent.  If  not  kiln-dried,  fresh  sapwood  rapidly  "blues''  on  exposure;  heart- 
wood  does  not,  and  in  general  excels  the  sapwood  in  durability.  On  drying,  the  sapwood  shrinks 
more  than  the  heartwood  of  the  same  weight.  Contrary  to  common  belief,  the  wood  substance,  or 
cell  wall,  is  not  increased  in  the  change  from  sapwood  to  heartwood,  the  walls  do  not  grow  thicker, 
the  cavities  of  the  cells  do  not  fill  up  with  foreign  matter,  uor  does  the  strength  of  the  wood  seem 
to  be  increased  by  the  change.  In  general  the  width  of  the  sapwood  is  greatest  in  young  and 
thrifty  trees,  grows  smaller  in  old  and  stunted  trees,  is  greatest  in  the  lower  ])arts  of  the  stem  and 
smaller  in  the  top  and  branches.  In  old  logs  the  sapwood  is  made  up  of  from  70  to  100  rings, 
showing  that  the  wood  of  any  one  ring  remains  in  older  trees  seventy  to  one  hundred  years  in  the 
sapwood  condition  before  it  changes  to  heartwood.  In  young  trees  this  period  is  much  shorter, 
twenty-five  to  forty  years  commonly  suiHciug  for  thrifty  trees  at  the  age  of  sixty  to  seventy  years, 
but  in  stunted  individuals  it  is  materially  prolonged.  The  share  of  the  sapwood  in  the  total  volume 
of  the  stem  is  always  considerable;  even  in  typical  old  trees  of  this  species  it  forms  40  per  cent 
and  more,  while  thrifty  stems  under  one  hundred  years  are  practically  all  sapwood. 

The  annual,  or  yearly,  rings  are  clearly  defined;  they  are  widest  near  the  pith  and  grow  rather 
uniformly  narrower  toward  the  bark.  In  the  inner  part  a  width  of  one  twelfth  of  an  inch  is  quite 
common;  the  rings  near  the  bark  of  old  logs  usually  measure  less  than  one-twenty-flfth  of  an  inch, 
often  scarcely  one-fiftieth  of  an  inch.  For  old  trees  the  average  width  of  the  entire  stem  may  be 
set  at  about  one-twentieth  to  one-twenty-fifth  of  an  inch.  Each  ring  consists  of  two  well-marked 
parts,  an  inner,  softer,  whiter  part,  the  s])ringwood,  and  an  outer,  harder,  and  darker  portion,  the 
summerwood,  so  called  because  formed  during  the  latter  part  of  the  growing  season. 

The  amount  of  the  summerwood  in  each  ring  dift'ers  in  different  parts  of  the  tree.  It  forms 
about  45  per  cent  of  the  volume  of  all  the  wood  of  the  stump,  and  only  about  24  per  cent  of  the 
wood  60  feet  from  the  butt.  It  is  greater  in  the  heavy  inner  part  of  an  old  log  than  in  the  lighter 
outer  portions,  and  being  of  a  darker  color  furnishes  a  convenient  means  of  distinguishing  heavy 
wood.  In  its  finer  anatomy  (histology)  the  wood  resembles  that  of  the  other  pines  of  the  tada 
group.  (For  the  details  of  structure  see  the  comparative  study  by  Mr.  Roth  appended  to  these 
monographs.) 

'This  st.atement  is  furnisbert  by  Mr.  Filibert   Roth,  in  cliaige  of  timlier  investigations  in  the  Division  of  Forestry. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  VIL 

[Figures  natural  size,  except  where  otlierwsi-  noted.] 

Fig.  n,  germinating  seed;  b,  young  seedling  (early  spring)  with  the  8  cotyledons  just  iiuColded;  c,  seedling  a 

few  weeks  older,  showing  central  cluster  of  primary  leaves  .jnst  unfolding;  cl,  seedling  at  the  end  of  the  first  or 

beginning  of  the  second  season,  showing  bundles  of  true  foliage  (secondary)  leaves  succeeding  the  primary  leaves 

which  have  disappeared ;  e,  young  tree,  3  to  4  years  old,  with  characteristic  large  root  system ;  one-third  natural  size. 


PiNUS  PALUSTRIS:    SEEDLINGS  AND  YOUNG   PLANT. 


PERIOD    OF    EARLY    GROWTH.  66 


•:VELOPMENT. 


In  a  fruitful  year,  before  the  close  of  tbe  season,  the  seeds  are  readily  shed,  a  dry  and  sunny 
state  of  the  atmosphere  favoring  the  fall  of  the  seed;  the  seedlings  are  found  to  come  up  abun- 
dantlj'  in  every  opening  of  the  forest  where  the  rays  of  the  sun  strike  the  dry  ground.  The  lower 
(hypocotyledonary)  part  of  the  axis  of  the  plantlet  is  close  to  the  grouud,  with  eight  to  ten  erect 
cotyledons  from  1  to  li  inches  in  length,  their  tips  inclosed  in  the  shell  of  the  seed,  with  the  long 
wing  persistent  and  borne  banner-like  at  the  top  of  the  plantlet  (PL  VII,  a).  The  elongation  of 
the  ascending  axis  proceeds  slowly,  growth  in  length  being  retarded  until  a  certain  thickness 
has  been  attained,  resembling  in  this  respect  the  growth  of  the  stem  of  endogenous  trees. 

Upon  examination  of  a  seedling  in  the  latter  part  of  April  the  cotyledons  had  disappeared 
and  the  caulicle  was  found  to  be  from  one-eighth  to  one-fourth  of  an  inch  long,  its  length  not 
exceeding  its  diameter,  hidden  by  a  dense  tuft  of  the  needle-shaped  primary  leaves,  which  closely 
invest  the  terminal  bud.  At  this  stage  a  few  fascicles  of  secondary  leaves  are  already  showing 
themselves,  still  inclosed  in  their  sheaths. 

During  the  first  three  or  four  years  its  energy  of  growth  is  mainly  expended  upon  the 
development  of  its  powerful  root  system  (see  PI.  VII,  e).  Before  the  first  spring  season  has 
passed,  the  stout  spindle-shaped  taproot  of  the  .seedling  is  found  to  be  over  3  inches  in  length  and 
provided  with  several  tine  lateral  rootlets,  sometimes  nearly  as  long  as  the  main  root. 

With  the  opening  of  June  the  primary  leaves  covering  the  axis  are  nearly  all  withered,  only 
a  few  remaining  to  the  end  of  the  season.  With  the  development  of  the  suppressed  secondary 
axes  from  which  the  foliage  leaves  proceed,  the  primary  leaves  are  reduced  to  chaffy  timbriate 
bracts.  Only  few  of  these  primary  leaves  retain  the  needle  shaped  form  and  green  color,  namely, 
those  from  which  no  leaf-bearing  branchlets  were  developed.  During  the  tirst  season  many  of  the 
fascicles  of  the  foliage  leaves  contain  only  two  leaves,  and  sheaths  inclosing  only  one  leaf  are 
frequently  observed. 

By  the  end  of  the  first  year  the  stem  of  the  plantlet  is  rarely  over  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in 
length,  the  main  root  having  attained  a  length  of  from  8  to  10  inches. 

Having  reached  the  end  of  the  second  year  the  taproot  is  found  from  12  to  3  feet  in  length,  the  stem 
scarcely  li  incbes  long,  with  an  increase  of  diameter  hardly  perceptible.  The  conical  termination 
of  the  sjiring  shoot  is  now  densely  covered  with  the  delicately  fringed  bracts  inclosing  the  buds  of 
the  foliage  leaves,  which  impart  to  it  the  appearance  of  a  silvery  white  tuft,  by  which  this  species 
is  recognized  at  first  sight. 

During  the  following  two  years  the  growth  proceeds  but  slowly,  the  length  by  the  end  of  the 
fourth  year  averaging  not  more  than  o  inches  with  a  thickness  of  three-fourths  to  seven-eigliths 
of  an  inch.  During  the  same  time  the  taproot  is  found  to  gain  constantly  both  in  thickness  and 
length  (see  PI.  VII,  c).  A  few  single  branches  now  make  their  appearance  on  the  main  axis. 
The  increase  of  growth  from  one  season  to  another  up  to  the  seventh  or  eighth  year  is  diilicult  to 
follow,  since  the  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the  spring  and  summer  wood  cells  in  the  spongy 
wood  of  young  trees  is  hardly  perceptible,  and  the  rings  of  annual  growth,  even  as  seen  in  cross 
sections  prepared  for  microscopical  examination,  are  mostly  too  indistinct  to  aft'ord  a  safe  criterion 
of  their  age.  As  far  as  could  be  observed  tiie  growth  proceeds  equally  slowly  during  the  fifth  and 
sixth  years,  the  plant  at  the  end  of  that  i)eriod  being  from  3  to  7  or  7i  inches  in  length. 

Stage  of  rapid  grorrth. — With  its  seventh  year  the  tree  may  be  said  to  enter  on  its  most 
vigorous  growth.  Henceforth  the  stem  (primary  axis)  increases  rapidly  in  length,  and  the 
development  of  branches  (lateral  axes)  proceeds  at  an  equal  rate  in  regular  whorls,  to  which  the 
symmetry  of  the  tree  in  that  stage  of  its  development  is  due.  During  the  seventh  year,  generally, 
the  tree  doubles  its  length,  and  during  a  7iumber  of  successive  years  the  rate  of  growth  in  that 
direction  varies  between  l<i  and  2  >  inches  annually,  as  is  clearly  shown  by  the  length  of  the 
internodes  sepai-ating  the  whorls.  As  the  branches  increase  in  length  they  produce,  in  the  same 
order  mostly,  two  opposite  secondary  branches.  With  the  rapid  expansion  of  the  leaf  surface^ 
the  formation  of  wood  keeps  pace.  The  rate  of  growth  in  diameter,  as  well  as  in  height,  during 
this  period,  is  of  course  variable  according  to  differences  in  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil 
as  well  as  in  the  available  amount  of  plant  food  and  moisture  it  contains,  and  no  less  upon 
differences  in  temperature  and  of  exposure  to  light  and  air.    These  variations  are  clearly  shown 


56  TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHEBX    UNITED    STATES. 

in  the  annexed  tables,  exhibiting  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  tree  during  its  most  active  stage. 
With  the  increasing  accretion  of  wood  the  annual  rings  become  sharply  defined,  leaving  no  doubt 
as  to  the  age  of  the  tree. 

To  make  sure  as  to  the  relation  between  the  annual  rings  and  the  age  of  the  tree,  the  age  of 
second  growth  was  ascertained  by  close  inquiries  directed  to  settlers  who  knew  the  time  that  had 
elapsed  since  this  second  growth  made  its  appearance  in  the  abandoned  fields  or  in  the  forest. 
Ill  every  instance  it  was  found  that  the  number  of  rings  accorded  closely  with  the  information 
elicited. 

To  ascertain  the  ditlerence  in  rate  of  growth  and  (|uality  of  wood  between  trees  grown  njion 
ground  once  turned  by  the  plow  and  those  sprung  ui)  in  the  original  forest  on  the  same  soil, 
several  trees  of  nearly  the  same  size  were  felled  in  what  clearly  appeared  to  be  the  remnant  of 
virgin  forest,  and  in  a  grove  grown  up  in  a  field  abandoned  years  ago.'  It  was  made  evident 
that  trees  in  the  original  forest  required  almost  double  the  length  of  time  to  attain  the  same 
dimension. 

A  field  covered  with  saplings  quite  uniform  in  growth  and  known  to  have  been  thrown  out  of 
cultivation  during  the  years  1.SG3  and  18(54  afforded  a  good  oi)portunity  for  these  investigations. 
A  number  of  trees,  varying  in  diameter  between  lOi  and  11  inches,  and  in  height  between  4.5  and 
no  feet,  showed  from  30  to  3~>  rings  of  growth.  The  length  of  the  spring  shoots  on  the  main  stem 
oi'  these  trees  was  found  (June  8)  to  be  from  21  to  24  in(;hes. 

In  another  fine  grove,  covering  a  field  which  was  known  to  have  been  cultivated  for  the  last 
time  during  the  years  1S.')5  and  IS.'iO,  a  number  of  trees  were  cut  down  for  nieasureinent.  The 
number  of  rings  was  found  not  to  exceed  48.  These  trees  also  showed  great  uniformity  in  size, 
measuring  near  the  base  Hi  to  12  inclies  in  diameti-r  and  from  G8  to  72  feet  in  height.  The  wood 
was  sappy  throughout  and  useless,  except  for  fuel  and  for  making  charcoal.  For  this  purpose 
the  laud  is  rented  at  $4  to  $5  per  acre.  In  this  grove,  ranking  as  best  pine-woods  laud,  the  soil 
of  which  was  nearly  level,  well  drained,  and  with  a  light,  loamy  subsoil,  110  trees  of  the  above 
dimensions  were  counted  on  1  acre. 

Among  the  trees  taken  from  the  forest  for  determining  the  difference  between  forest  growth 
and  field  trees,  one  measuring  12  inches  in  diameter  and  70  feet  in  height  showed  85  rings  of 
annual  growth,  with  9.i  inches  of  heartwood.  Two  others,  14  and  15  inches  in  diameter  and  70 
and  71  feet  high,  showed  00  rings  each.  The  shoots  of  the  year  (June  8)  on  the  primary  and 
lateral  axes  of  these  trees  were  found  to  be  but  little  over  1  inch  in  length. 

In  a  third  grove,  upon  poor,  sandy,  undulating  ground,  a  number  of  trees  below  medium  size 
were  found  cut  down  to  serve  for  posts  and  logs.  In  25  of  these  trees  the  diameter  varied  between 
7i^  and  8  inches,  with  a  nearly  uniform  height  of  GO  to  02  feet,  the  first  limb  being  IS  to  20  feet  above 
the  ground.  The  number  of  rings  varied  between  48  and  50.  The  forests  in  the  same  vicinity  were 
stripped  of  their  more  valuable  timber  a  number  of  years  before.  The  largest  trees  of  the  original 
forest  growth  remaining  were  from  12  to  15  inches  in  diameter.  Several  were  brought  down  for 
measurement  and  found  to  be  73  feet  in  height  by  14  inches  in  diameter,  with  12G  rings  and  9  inches 
of  heartwood;  73  feet  in  height  by  13  inches  in  diameter,  with  94  rings  and  G  inches  of  heartwood; 
and  89  feet  in  height  by  14  inches  in  diameter,  with  107  rings  and  S  inches  of  heartwood. 

When  the  tree  has  reached  its  second  decade  it  begins  to  produce  flowers  and  fruit.  Having 
during  the  course  of  the  following  ten  to  fifteen  years  reached  a  length  of  from  40  to  45  feet,  with 
the  main  stem  clear  of  limbs,  the  growth  of  branches  does  not  jiroceed  with  the  same  regularity; 
consequently,  they  are  no  longer  arranged  in  regular  wlioils,  but  appear  irregularly,  and  thus  the 
symmetry  of  the  tree  is  lost. 


'  On  tlie  rolling  jjine  uplauda  near  Spring  Hill,  Mobile  (bounty. 


Diame- 

Height. 

breast 

To 

Total. 

[nchet. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

5fi, 

4^ 

lo" 

u 

6 

17 

9 

■12 

8 

14 

L'4 

% 

15 

PERIOD    OF    RAPID    GROWTH. 
Table  I. — Measurements  of  young  treis  of  Longlcaf  Pine. 


Opening  in  forest;  pasture  protected  1 

Do. 
Old  field ;  last  time  plowed  in  1874. 
In  the  midst  of  forest. 
Opeuinj^  iu  forest. 
Deep  forest. 
Old  field. 
Open  forest. 

Pasture  in  forest;  ground  never  turne 
Old  clearing ;  turned  ground. 

Do. 
Opening  in  forest ;  sandy  uplands. 


57 


Flat,  damp;  openiuj;  in  forest;  exposu 


Old  held ;  poor,  broken  ground. 
Virgin  forest;  undercover. 
Virf^in  forest;  in  opening;  free. 

ii|„  II  \.,v    I     s.iiidy  uplands;  free. 

!  ;.  I    i:l   ,:     I. use  forest  in  opening;  exposure  free. 


Do. 
Do. 
Boundary  field ;  open. 
Flat,  damp ;  open  forest. 
Dense  oak  opening ;  opi)ressed. 
Iu  open  forest. 

Old  pasture,  on  poor  broken  ground. 
6  trees  from  grove  of  old  pasture;  yield,  sticks  and  posts  for  fencing 

and  building;  averaging  20  feet  in  length. 
Grove  with  115  to  120  trees  to  the  acre;  on  field  abandoned  in  1835, 

and  rented  to  charcoal  burners. 
Old  ])asture. 
Old.turpentine  orchard ;  bled;  exposed  for  over  20  year.s,  one  season 

after  another,  to  tire. 
Under  cover  of  forest. 
Old  turpentine  orchard:  bled  ami  si^ordu^il,  exiiibiting  the  effect  of 

bleeding  and  repeated  burning  of  the  woods  by  their  retarded 


grow 


Stage  of  slow  growth. — Rapid  as  is  the  increase  in  length  of  the  primary  axis  or  trunk,  amount- 
ing during  the  first  half  century,  in  the  average,  to  14;  or  15  inches  annually,  the  rate  is  subse- 
quently greatly  diminished,  averaging  from  the  fiftieth  to  about  the  one  hundred  and  fifteenth 
year  but  from  4  to  5  inches,  and  from  this  time  to  the  age  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  only  IJ 
inches — that  is,  at  a  relative  rate  of  10,  3,  and  1  in  the  three  successive  periods.  The  decrease  in 
the  accretion  of  wood  corresponds  with  the  reduction  in  the  growth  of  the  branches  and  conse- 
fiuent  reduction  of  foliage.  From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  seen  that  the  Longleaf  Pine  attains 
fullness  of  growth,  with  the  best  qualities  of  its  timber,  at  an  age  of  from  one  hundred  and  eighty 
to  two  hundred  years.  After  having  passed  the  second  century  the  trees  are  found  frequently  to 
be  wind  shaken  and  otherwise  defective.  The  deterioration  of  the  weather-beaten  crown  lessens 
the  vitality  of  the  tree,  and  the  soil,  under  prevailing  conditions,  becomes  less  and  less  favorable. 
In  consequence,  the  trees  become  liable  to  disease  and  mostly  fall  prey  to  the  attacks  of  parasitic 
fungi  (red  heart).  Instances  of  trees  which  have  reached  the  maximum  age  of  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  or  three  hundred  years  are  exceptional. 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  age  required  to  furuisU  merchantable  timber  of  first  quality,  meas- 
urements were  made  of  a  number  of  logs  iu  a  log  camp  in  the  rolling  pine  uplands  of  the  lower 
division  of  the  coastal  pine  belt  near  Lumbertou,  Washington  County,  Ala.  From  the  results 
obtained  it  appears  that  in  this  section  of  the  eastern  Gulf  region,  at  the  lowest  figure,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  years  are  requisite  to  produce  logs  of  the  dimensions  at 
present  cut  at  the  sawmills. 
25666— No.  13—02 5 


58 


TIMBER    PINES    OP   THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 
Taiile  II. — Mea^uretncHls  of  Longleaf  Fine — period  of  slower  (/rowth  from  one  Inindred  to  two  hundred  i/eam. 


S 

& 

•= 

g 

s 

.•". 

•a 

H 

Tn. 

lOb 

19 

110 

17 

180  i   112      15  I  50 


114 

115 
115 
116 
116 

17 
1^* 

118 

15 

123 
125 

17 
18 

133 
135 

18 
17 

145 

19 

145 

22 

140 

20 

155 
155 

23 
18 

160 

24 

165 

21 

167 

16 

170 
170 

21 
21 

180 

19 

182 

19 

183 

16 

189 

19 

190 

21 

Increase  in  diam- 
eter    for    e.ieli 
ball- 


quired  for  every  inch 
of  wood  for  each  suc- 
cessive lialf  ceutury. 


3     I  4     5 


Nona,  Tex  ... 
Wallace,  Ala.. 


Wilson,  Ala 

Chniichnla.  Ala. 


Wilson,  Ala  , 
Eastman,  Ga 


Flat;  soil,  deep  sandy  loam,  damp;  vir- 
gin forest  close;  e.\po8ure  free. 

Gently  rolling,  pine  upland,  close;  vir- 
gin forest;  slightly  under  cover  and 
oppressed. 

Bored  timber;  abandoned  for  five  years; 
dry  pine,  rolling  pine  forest ;  e.\posnre 
free. 

Open  forest;  exposure  free. 
Do. 
Do. 

Flat  woods;  closed  forest;  dumii,  etc. 

Clearing  in  forest;  soil  dry,  sandy. 

RoUinc:  pine  laiida;  dry,  .sandy. 

Flat  womls:  Hnii();iniit:'i-rown  oppressed. 

Kolliii^  ! " •    .Ir.v,  siiudy. 

Bi-'Kil    '!         ii      Hi       open   forest;  par. 


Gii.i 


for- 


Do 


Eidgeland,  S.  C  . 


Wallace,  Ala. 
Itenfroe,  Ala. 


Exposed  slope ;  open  forest ;  soil,  loamy 
sand;  exposure  free. 

Open  forest;  dry,  sandy;  exposure  free. 

Kocky  hillside ;  dry  subsoil,  loam;  expo 
sure  free. 

Eocky  hillside;  dry  subsoil,  loam;  par- 
tially free. 

Gently  undulating  open  forest;  loamy 
sand;  exposure  free. 

Open    pine    forest;  sandy    loam,    dry; 


Open  pine  forest;  loamy  saud,  dry; 

posure  free. 
Close   forest;  deep   sandy    loam;  e: 

sure  free. 
Kocky  hillside;  forest  open;  dry;  e: 

sure  free. 
Flat  woods,  damp:  close  forest;  e: 

sure  free. 


Do. 
Rolling  open  I 


Wallace,  Ala.. 


■tFallv 


ne  woods;  deep  sandy  loam; 


KoUing  pine  woods;  deep  saudy  loam; 

partiall.y  under  cover. 
Flat  woods;  loamy;  damp;  free 


Table  III.— J/<as 


PERIOD    OP    SLOW   GROWTH.  59 

tnts  of  Longleaf  Pine— period  uf  shwest  yrowthfrnm  two  kundi-ed  In  tieo  hundred  and  sixty  sijc  years. 


i 

1 
1 

Height. 

i 

In. 

14 

1 
§ 
1 
In. 

lired 
wood 
half 

Locality. 

1 

1 

1 

•■3 

Ft. 

127 

106 
108 
109 
101 
110 
112 

106 

120 

117 
108 

106 
110 

103 
101 
103 
102 
103 

Increase  in  diam- 
eter  for   every 
half  century,  in 
incbea. 

iN'muber  of    years    req 
for   every    inch    of 
for    each    successive 
century. 

Remarks. 

;5 

1 

L 

3 

4 

5 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

202 

200 
216 
202 
206 
209 
210 
215 

216 

215 

220 
235 

2« 
240 

250 
248 
203 
264 
264 
2C6 

In 
23 

Ft. 

fin 

Eyanaville,  Calca- 
sieu Parish,  La. 
Wallace,  Ala.... 

do 

Eenfroe,  Ala 

Nona,  Tex 

Eenfroe,Ala 

Wallace,  Ala 

do 

Flat  woods;  damp  soil;  saudj-.cold 

loam;  exposure  free. 
Gently  undulating;   forest  dense; 

exposure  free. 
O.MitIv  mifln'Tiiv,':    dense  forest; 

^i.|"|^  .-;iiia    •  Mi.isnrofreo. 
!:■             1           i     1'  inrcst;  exposure 

L.^^.J^^.i.::  .    :-.  s,:  damp;  expos- 
Roc  ky  hiils;    forest  open;   under- 
growth dense;  exposure  free. 
Undulating  table-land;  forest 
dense;    loamy   sand;     exposure 
somewhat  oppressed. 
Undulating  table-land;    dense  for- 

Undulatinetablelan'd ;  open  forest ; 
exposure'^free:  timber  bled. 

26|55 
29  '  56 

21  ■  54 

22|ei 

22  50 
21  '  50 

10 

14 
12 

3 

1 
1 





189 

1 

1 

240 

14J 

5 

26 

26 

23 
22 

27 

55 

64 

45 
41 

M 

Wilson,  Ala 

15 

21 
17 

16 
15 

'26' 
18 

3i 

'A 
2 

Eastman,  Ga 

Undulating  tableland ;  open  forest; 
loamy  sand ;  exposure  free. 

250 

m 

25     52 

23  !  46 

24  40 

Nona,  Tex 

Lumberton.Ala.. 
do 

Level,  damp;  forest  dense;  some- 

wliat  opprfssr-il. 
KolliM-iiphiiHlH    lurestopen;  free. 

8 

S3 

f 

s 

il 

2 

14 

6.3 
5.7 

0.5 
8.3 

13.3 
11.1 

18 
14.3 

25 

28 

43 
52 

i 

I 

i 

I* 

31 

I 

6.6 
6.6 
6.3 

5.7 
5.7 

8.7 

12.6 
12.6 
8.7 

15.5 
16.6 
15.5 

16.6 
12,6. 

do 

do 

Uu. 

The  following  table  and  diagram  (fig.  8)  present  the  average  results  of  a  detailed  study  of  over 
sixty  trees  collected  in  different  localitie.s.  Since  only  the  part  of  the  stem  from  stump  upward  is 
represented,  the  seedling  period  of  slow  growth  finds  no  expression.  It  will  be  observed  that  the 
growth  in  height  is  a  maximum  between  the  age  of  ten  and  thirty  years,  amounting  to  li  feet  for 
eacli  decade;  that  it  is  but  half  of  this  at  sixty  and  little  over  one- third  at  the  age  of  one  hundred 
years.  As  plainly  indicated  in  the  fine,  uniform  graiu  of  the  wood,  the  growth  in  diameter  is 
remarkably  uniform  until  the  tree  reaches  the  age  of  about  one  hundred  years.  From  this  on  it 
decreases  rapidly  and  is  scarcely  more  than  oue-fourth  as  great  at  one  hundred  and  eighty  as  it 
is  at  one  hundred.  The  rate  of  growth  in  volume  increases  steadily  up  to  the  one  hundredth  j'ear, 
reaching  a  maximum  of  over  1.3  cubic  feet  per  year,  but  decreases,  though  v^ery  slowly,  from  that 
time  forward,  being  only  about  one-half  cubic  foot  per  year  when  the  tree  reaches  the  age  of  one 
hundred  and  eighty  years. 

liute  of  growth  of  Lonyleaf  Vine. 


Diam- 
eter 

Length 

Volume. 

Periodical  accretion. 

accretion. 

Age. 

with 

Height 

Current 

bark 
(breast 

s; 

oftree. 

Tree. 

Log. 

Decade. 

Diame- 

Height 

Area  of 

Volume. 

accretion. 

high).  |terof5 

ter. 

tions. 

inches. 

Inches. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

Cu./eet. 

Cu./eet. 

Inches. 

Feet. 

Sg./oat. 

Cu./eet. 

Cu./eet. 

Cu./eet. 

20 

\-% 

23 
37 

1.20 
3.35 

Second                                 

1.8 
1.6 

14 

.04 
.07 

1.08 
2.15 

.06 
.11 

11 

30 

Third 

.21 

9.30 

9.6 

34 

62 

15.26 

13.99 

Sixth 

.12 

4.51 

.25 

.45 

11.5 

44 

67 

24.16 

23.11 

1.6 

.17 

8.90 

.35 

90 

14.5 

.    56 

76 

43.57 

1.2 

.16 

10.39 

.48 

1.04 

100 

1.1 

.17 

12.28 

.56 

1.23 

120 

18.0 

65 

87 

76.87 

1.8 

.30 

21.02 

.64 

1.05 

140 

19.5 

72 

93 

96.44 

:        ,11  ^   :          '.Mlth.... 

1.6 

.29 

19.62 

.69 

160 

20.5 

SO 

.8 

.16 

13.86 

.70 

.79 

180 

21.3 

85 

103 

122.  00 

121.  :;o 

SLv.iit.i-nibau.l.igiiteenth.. 

.12 

10.70 

.67 

.53 

GO 


TIMBER   PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHFKN    UNITED    STATES. 


HEIGHT 
IN  FEET. 

103^ 

98[ 

931 

87 1 


60 
YEARS, 


70 
YEARS 


2416 
CUB.  FT, 


90 
YEARS. 


100 
YEARS 


33,18 
CUB  FT 


43,57     ■     55.85 
CUB,  FT,  I    CUB  FT 


120 
YEARS. 


76,87 
CUB,  FT 


140 
YEARS. 


96,44 

CUB.  FT, 


112,3 
CUB,  FT. 


-Growth  of  Lou^loiif  I'ii 


,ibic  contents  of  i 


CONDITIONS   OF   DKVELOPMENT. 


-20.5--^--  21.3--' 
DIAMETERS. 
IN  INCHES. 

itc,  years  of  age. 


Demands  upon  soil  and  climate. — In  its  demands  upon  the  soil  this  pine  is  to  be  counted  among 
the  most  frugal  as  far  as  mineral  constituents,  which  are  considered  as  plant  food,  are  concerned, 
if  only  the  mechanical  conditions  which  influence  favorable  soil  moisture  are  not  wanting.  It 
thrives  best  ou  a  liglit  siliceous  soil,  loamy  sand  or  pebbles  or  light  sandy  loam,  with  a  slightly 
clayey  subsoil  sufficiently  porous  to  insure  at  least  a  partial  underdrainage  and  to  permit  unim- 
peded development  of  the  long  taproot.  Whenever  the  tree  meets  an  obstacle  to  the  development 
of  this  root  it  remains  more  or  less  stunted. 

The  luxuriance  of  the  growth  and  increase  in  size  of  the  timber,  however,  is  greatly  influ- 
enced by  the  quantity  of  clay  present,  particularly  in  the  deep  subsoil,  which  improves  mechanical 
and  moisture  conditions.  This  is  strikingly  exhibited  in  the  timber  of  the  level  pine  flats  west  of 
the  Mississippi  Kiver,  although  the  surface  drainage  is  almost  wanting  and  the  underdrainage 
through  the  loamy  strata  slow,  so  that  the  surface  of  the  soil  remains  damp  or  water-soaked  for 
thegreater  part  of  the  year;  the  stand  of  timber  of  ttrst  class  dimensions  exceeds  considerably 
that  of  the  rolling  pine  uplands  on  the  Atlantic  slope  and  the  lower  part  of  the  pine  belt  in  the 
Eastern  Gulf  region,  which  are  poorer  in  clay.  Evidently,  although  the  underdrainage  is  less 
perfect,  the  moisture  conditions  during  the  dry  season  of  the  year,  the  time  of  most  active  growth, 
must  be  most  favorable.  The  same  fact  is  apparent  in  the  upper  part  of  the  coast  pine  belt  in 
Alabama  and  Mississippi,  where  upon  the  same  area,  with  a  smaller  number  of  trees,  the  crop  of 
timber  may  be  considered  almost  twice  as  heavy  as  that  found  on  the  pine  barrens  proper  farther 
south.  On  the  soil  of  One,  closely  compacted  sand,  entirely  deficient  in  drainage  as  found  in  the 
so  called  pine  meadows  along  the  coast  of  western  Eloiida,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi,  as  well  as 
on  the  siliceous  rocky  ridges  of  central  and  northern  Alubania,  the  tree  is  so  stunted  as  to  be  of 
little  or  no  value  for  its  timber. 

"  It  is  neither  temperature  alone,  nor  rainfall  and  moisture  conditions  of  the  atmosphere  alone, 
that  influence  tree  growth,  but  the  relation  of  these  two  climatic  factors,  which  determines  the 


CONDITIONS   OF   DEVELOPMENT.  61 

amount  of  transpiration  to  be  performed  by  the  foliage,  and  again  with  most  species  we  must  place 
this  transpiration  movement  into  relation  with  available  soil  moisture,  in  order  to  determine  what 
the  requirements  and  the  most  suitable  habitat  of  the  species  are"  (B.  E.  Fernow).  Hence  we  find 
that  east  of  the  Mississippi  River  the  Longleaf  Pine  occurs  in  greatest  frequency  along  the  isotherm 
of  6(P  F.  ranging  to  the  34°  north  latitude,  while  west  of  the  Mississippi  it  follows  a  line  between 
the  isotherms  of  03°  and  64°  F.  and  is  scarcely  found  north  of  the  thirty-second  parallel  of  north 
latitude.  Within  this  area  of  its  distribution  it  is  exposed  to  wide  variation  of  temperature  and 
moisture  conditions. 

Under  the  intluence  of  the  vapor-laden  breezes  from  the  Mexican  Gulf  and  an  evenly  distributed 
rainfall  ranging  from  42  to  03  inches  during  the  year,  the  Longleaf  Pine  appears  of  the  same  thrift 
and  vigor  of  growth  in  tlie  interior  of  Alabama  under  34°  to  3.3^  north  latitude,  with  the  ther- 
mometer falling  as  low  as  4^  F.  ( — 10°  (J.)  and  a  range  of  temperature  of  !)3o  (at  Tuscaloosa),  as  it 
is  found  in  the  subtropical  belt  of  the  coast  with  a  maximum  temperature  of  105°  F.  (40°  C.)  and  a 
range  of  temperature  of  94";  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  beyond  longitude  97°  and  above 
latitude  32°,  although  the  temperature  reaches  rarely  a  minimum  of  15°,  the  diminished  humidity 
of  the  atmosphere  and  lesser  rainfall,  particularly  during  tbe  warmer  season,  account  for  its 
absence.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  greater  exposure  to  the  violence  of  the  sudden  gusts  of 
dry  and  cold  wind  known  in  Texas  as  "dry  northers"  exercises  also  no  small  inlluence  in  limiting 
the  Longleaf  Pine. 

ASSOCIATED   SPECIES. 

The  Longleaf  Pine  is  eminently  a  gregarious  tree,  covering  areas  of  wide  extent,  to  the  almost 
complete  exclusion  of  any  other  species.  In  the  fiat  woods  of  the  coastal  plain,  particularly  near 
its  northern  limit  on  the  Atlantic  Slope,  it  is  not  infrequently  associated  with  the  Loblolly  Pine; 
farther  south  and  along  the  Gulf  Coast  to  the  Mississippi  River,  more  or  less  frequently  with  this 
tree  and  tbe  Cuban  Pine.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  maritime  pine  belt  it  not  rarely  occurs  together 
with  the  Shortleaf  Pine  and  the  Loblolly  Pine  intermixed  with  the  deciduous  trees  of  the  uplands, 
viz,  the  P>lack  Oak,  Spanish  Oak,  Black-jack,  Bitternut,  Morkcinut  llickm-ies,  and  Black  Gum. 

It  will  be  apparent,  from  what  has  been  said  regarding  the  demands  for  light,  that  the  asso- 
ciated species  must  be  either  slower  growers  or  later  comers,  if  the  Longleaf  Pine  is  to  survive  iu 
the  mixture.  As  has  been  pointed  out  elsewhere,  with  the  culling  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  from  the 
mixed  growths  it  must  soon  cease  to  play  a  part  in  them,  since  its  renewal  under  the  shade  of 
the  remaining  associates  is  impossible. 

ENEMIES. 

The  greatest  danger  threatening  the  existence  of  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  must  be  ascribed 
to  the  agency  of  man,  since  their  destruction  is  caused  chiefly  by  the  reckless  manner  in  which 
they  are  depleted  without  heed  to  recuperation.  The  right  of  ownership  has  been  generally 
acquired  on  such  low  terms  that  since  no  value  has  been  attached  to  the  laud  without  the 
timber,  despoliation  has  been  carried  on  with  no  other  object  than  the  quickest  return  of 
momentary  profits. 

EXPLOITATIOX. 

Such  management  could  not  but  entail  tremendous  waste,  a  large  percentage  of  the  body  of 
the  trees  felled  being  left  on  the  ground  to  rot  or  to  serve  as  fuel  for  the  conflagrations  which  scour 
these  woods  almost  every  year.  Infinitely  greater  than  the  injuries  inflicted  upon  the  forest  by 
the  logger  and  by  getting  out  cross-ties  and  hewn  square  timber,  which  consist  chiefly  in  the 
accumulation  of  combustible  waste,  are  those  caused  by  the  production  of  naval  stores.  When 
the  fact  is  considered  that  the  production  of  the  40,000  barrels  of  spirits  of  turpentine,  which  on 
an  average  during  the  latter  half  of  this  decade  annuallj'  reached  the  market  of  Mobile  alone, 
implies  the  devastation  of  about  70,000  acres  of  virgin  forest,  the  destruction  caused  by  this 
industry  appears  iu  its  full  enormity.  Under  the  management  of  the  turpentine  orchards 
l)revailing  at  present,  trees  of  such  small  size  are  tapped  that  they  are  unable  to  resist  the  force 
of  the  winds,  and  in  a  few  years  are  inevitably  prostrated,  while  the  larger  trees,  weakened  by  the 
severe  gashes  on  almost  every  side,  become  largely  wind  shaken,  and  the  timber  after  a  longer 
lai)se  of  time  loses  much  iu  value. 


62  TIMBER    PINES   OF   THE    SOUTHERN   UNITED    STATES. 

While  a  judicious  tapping  is  uot  only  justified,  but  demanded,  by  an  economic  system  of 
exploitation,  the  prevailing  methods  of  orcharding  are  unnecessarily  destructive. 

The  tapping  of  sapling  timber  not  yet  ripe  for  the  saw,  and  the  destructive  Arcs  started  in 
connection  with  this  industry,  annihilating  all  young  growth,  pi-event  any  renewal  of  the  forest, 
while  the  working  of  large  bodies  of  timber  years  before  milling  facilities  are  available  leads  often 
to  20  per  cent  and  more  of  loss  in  both  quality  and  quantity  of  the  merchantable  product. 


The  greatest  injury  to  which  the  pine  forests  are  subject  in  consequence  of  turpentine 
orcharding  arises  from  the  flres  which  are  started  every  spring  for  tlie  purpose  of  getting  rid  of 
the  combustible  matter  raked  from  around  the  tapped  trees  in  order  to  protect  them  from  accidental 
conflagrations  while  they  are  worked.  These  forest  fires,  spreading  far  beyond  their  intended 
limits,  destroy  entirely  the  youngest  progeny  of  the  pines,  stunt  the  growth  of  the  more  advanced 
trees,  and  cause  the  ruin  of  a  large  number  of  older  ones  in  the  abandoned  turpentine  orchards. 
Burning  deeply  into  the  gashes  and  other  exposed  surfaces  of  the  tapped  trees,  these  flres  hasteu 
their  jirostration  by  the  gales.  Moreover,  the  fire  causes  cracks  in  the  surfaces  laid  bare  by  the 
ax  and  the  puller  and  occasions  greater  exposure  to  atmospheric  action,  thus  inducing  more  or  less 
rapid  decay.  A  test,  made  by  sawing  through  twenty-two  logs  taken  at  random  from  a  turpentine 
orchard  after  it  had  been  abandoned  for  a  ])eriod  of  sixteen  to  eighteen  years,  showed  that  about 
one-half  of  the  timber  was  partially  decayed  and  shaky. 

Besides  the  production  of  naval  stores  as  a  cause  of  forest  flres,  there  is  another  scarcely  less 
potent.  This  is  the  ])ractice  prevailing  among  the  settlers  of  burning  the  woods  upon  the  approach 
of  every  spring  in  order  to  hasten  the  growth  of  grass  for  their  famished  stock.  Fires  are  also 
frequently  started  through  the  carelessness  of  loggers  and  hunters,  in  the  preparation  of  the  ground 
for  tillage,  and  by  sparks  from  locomotives.  These  fires,  occurring  at  least  once  during  every 
year,  cause  the  total  destruction  of  the  young  growth  of  the  Longleaf  Pine.  The  danger  to  this 
species  is  much  greater  than  to  any  other  Southern  tree,  because  of  the  greater  length  of  time  it 
requires  to  reach  a  size  at  which  it  can  offer  some  resistance  to  fire.  In  the  open  forests  of  Longleaf 
Pine  the  fires  are  not  so  destructive  to  the  larger  timber  as  in  the  dense  forests  of  coniferous 
trees  farther  north,  trees  of  larger  size  being,  with  some  exceptions,  but  slightly,  if  at  all,  directly 
damaged. 

Another  serious  damage,  however,  resulting  from  the  frequent  recurrence  of  fires  is  the 
destruction  of  all  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil.  Deprived  of  the  mulching  needed  for  the  retention 
of  moisture,  the  naturally  porous  and  dry  soil,  now  rendered  absolutely  arid  and  barren,  is  no  longer 
capable  of  supporting  any  larger  tree  growth  or  other  useful  vegetation. 


Of  no  less  danger  to  the  existence  of  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine  is  the  injury  caused  by  live 
stock.  This  agency,  slow  in  its  action,  is  sure  to  lead  to  their  destruction  unless  restricted  to  some 
extent.  Besides  the  damage  due  to  the  trampling  down  and  mutilation  of  the  young  growth  by 
herds  of  cattle  roaming  through  the  woods,  the  smaller  domestic  animals — goats  and  sheep — eat 
the  tufts  of  the  tender  foliage  of  the  seedlings,  while  hogs  are  seen  digging  up  and  chewing  the 
spongy  and  tender  roots  of  the  young  plants.  As  a  further  agency  in  the  way  of  tlie  renewal  of 
this  species,  the  destruction  of  the  mature  cones  might  be  mentioned,  caused  principally  by  the 
squirrels,  which  peel  oft'  the  scales  clean  to  the  core  in  search  of  the  sweet,  nutritious  seed. 


Full-grown  trees  are  frequently  uprooted  by  the  hurricanes  which  from  time  to  time  pass 
through  the  pine  belt.  Those  having  the  taproot  shortened  by  impenetrable  layers  of  indurated 
clay  interposed  in  the  subsoil  at  varying  depths  are  invariably  the  first  victims  of  the  high  winds. 
In  trees  grown  in  such  x>laces  the  taproot  is  found  with  a  tumid  and  round  base  as  smooth  as  if 
polished. 


63 


Frequently  full-grown  trees  are  found  to  show  signs  of  rapid  decay.  These  are  recognized  by 
the  gradual  dying  of  the  smaller  liaibs  and  their  falling  otf,  in  consequence  of  the  rotting  of  the 
wood  surrounding  their  base;  and  after  having  been  cast  ofl'  a  hole  or  diseased  spot  remains  in 
the  trunk,  which  is  infested  by  a  large  fungus  of  the  genus  Pohjporus  (punk  holes,  punk  stools). 
The  heartwood  of  such  trees  is  of  a  reddish  color,  soft,  sappy,  and  full  of  small  channels,  caused 
by  the  breaking  down  of  the  walls  of  the  wood  cells,  tilled  with  the  mycelium,  the  so-called  spawn 
of  the  fungus,  the  threads  of  which  also  penetrate  the  medullary  rays.  Such  punky  or  red-heart 
timber  is  found  mostly  on  the  ridges  in  the  poorest  soil.  Apparently  superannuated  trees  are  most 
frequently  found  afHicted  with  this  rot. 


The  Longleaf  Pine,  throughout  its  existence,  is  exposed  to  the  danger  of  destruction  by  the 
ravages  of  insects,  hosts  of  which,  belonging  to  various  orders,  are  found  to  infest  it  from  the 
earliest  stages  of  its  development.  Upon  the  tufts  of  the  tender  primary  leaves  of  the  seedling 
are  often  found  feeding  large  numbers  of  a  yellow,  black-striped  caterpillar,  the  larva?  of  a  species 
of  sawfly  (LopliijrnH). 

The  cambium  of  trees  felled  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  is  soon  found  swarming  with  the 
larval  brood  of  bark  beetles,  which  after  a  short  time  infest  the  trees  growing  near  by,  causing,  as 
has  been  again  and  agaiu  observed,  the  death  particularly  of  the  trees  of  younger  growth  over 
extensive  areas.  Hence  the  necessity  of  stopping  the  practice  of  felling  trees  during  the  summer 
season.  According  to  information  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Schwarz,  of  the  Entomological  Division 
of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  most  if  not  all  the  species  of  the  bark  beetles 
of  the  family  Tomicidw  have  more  than  one  annual  generation,  and  in  the  Southern  States  they  have, 
in  all  probability,  three.  The  summer  generation  develops  in  a  very  short  time,  possibly  within 
four  or  five  weeks,  and  the  perfect  beetles  issuing  from  the  trees  felled  in  August  will  in  Septem- 
ber attack  the  healthy  trees  near  bj^  for  want  of  more  suitable  food.  The  ravages  spoken  of  bj' 
Michaux  refer,  no  doubt,  to  these  species  of  Tomicidcv  beetles  which  enter  the  solid  wood  of  trees, 
e.  g.,  Gn-uthotrichus  materiarius  and  XjflehoruH  intbesceiis.  The  galleries  of  these  timber  beetles 
or  allied  species  are  found  to  penetrate  the  wood  to  the  heart.  The  grating  noise  made  by  the 
larva;  of  the  large  ceramboid  beetle,  the  Monohammus,  while  engaged  in  its  work  of  destruction 
frequently  strikes  the  ear  in  the  forest.  That  there  is  a  large  number  of  species  belonging  to 
different  orders  preying  on  the  Longleaf  Pine  and  more  or  less  destructive  to  the  life  of  this  tree 
is  apparent  from  the  following  communication  from  Mr.  Schwarz: 

The  nnraber  of  insects  to  bo  found  on  the  Longleaf  Pine  is  very  large  and  comprises  species  of  most  orders,  but 
a  complete  list  <if  tlii'ni  has  never  been  published  and  the  habits  of  most  of  them  have  never  been  carefully  studied. 
Only  those  which  are  really  injurious  to  the  tree  need  to  be  considered. 

Order  ffynienopleru:  Several  species  of  sawtlies  {TeiitJiredinida'),  occasionally  very  injurious  to  the  younger  trees, 
the  larva>  defoliating  the  branches.  The  species  thus  far  observed  are  Lophyrus  ahbotii,  Leach;  Lophyrits  leconiei, 
Fitch,  and  three  or  four  less  common  species. 

Order  Cohoptera:  Round-headed  borers  (larvM>  nf  Cifimhijcidw)  atfect  the  trees  similarly  to  the  Siiprentida-, 
but  their  burrows  are  always  cylindrical,  and  -  ni.  -]m  ,  ;.  s  Lore  only  under  the  bark.  The  most  abundant  and 
destructive  is  Monnhammus  lilillalor,  Fabr.,  but  i  In  i  r  .■.n-  many  cither  species,  of  which  the  following  is  a  partial  list: 
Scaphinus  sphaTicollis,  Lee;  Asemum  moestum,  Ilal.l. ;  Ciin,,  i.lmhis  nuhilus,  Lee;  Eupogoniuntomentoaus.l^a.M. ;  Acantho- 
cinus  nodosiis,  Fabr.  In  the  family  Curculionidu,  the  worst  enemy  of  the  pine  tree  in  the  more  Northern  .States 
Pissodes  stiobi  is  rare  in  the  region  of  the  Longleaf  Pine,  bat  another  species,  rachylobiux  jiiciiorus,  Germ.,  the  larva' 
of  which  bore  nnder  the  bark,  is  quite  common  and  greatly  injurious  to  the  Longleaf  Pine.  Of  its  more  dangerous 
enemies  the  Scolytid  beetles,  which  mostly  bore  their  galleries  under  the  bark,  only  a  fe%v  species  entering  the  solid 
■wood,  the  following  are  known  to  infest  Pinu8  palustrh:  Piti/opthoriiK  piiUcariua,  Zim. ;  P.  aiinectens,  Lee. ;  TomUus 
calligraphus,  Ger.;  T. -ai'iiZsi/s,,  Eich. ;  T.  cacographuf,  IjOc;  Cryplunjua  alonuia,'Lec.\  Dendrocionus  ieribraiis,  OWv.; 
D.  froiitalh,  Zim. ;  Hylastes  porculm,  Er. ;  //.  exilis,  Chap. 

The  few  species  entering  the  solid  wood  are  Platypus  quadr'idenlaius,  Oliv.;  Gnathoirichus maieriarius,  Fitch,  and 
Ayhborus 2>iibi8ceiis,  Zim.  Most  of  these  ScolytidiE  are  extremely  numerous  in  specimens,  and  although  they  usually 
infest  injured  or  diseased  trees,  yet  in  cases  of  excessive  multiplication  or  for  want  of  proper  food  they  often  attack 
healthy  trees,  which  within  one  oi;  two  years  succumb  to  their  attacks. 


64  TIMBER   PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


NATURAL   REPRODUCTION. 

Certain  peculiarities  inherent  to  this  species  form  a  series  of  obstacles  in  the  way  of  its 
spontaneous  reproduction.  These  are,  iirst,  the  rare  occurrence  of  seasons  of  abundant  crops  of 
seed,  and,  second,  its  slow  growth  during  the  earliest  part  of  its  development,  rendering  the 
young  oft'spring  of  this  pine  liable  to  be  suppressed  by  competing  species  of  quicker  growth.  To 
these  causes  is  to  be  further  added  its  dependence  upon  the  influence  of  direct  suidight,  which  is 
required  for  its  germination  as  well  as  during  the  subseijuent  stages  of  its  growth  to  maturity, 
and  the  sensitiveness  of  the  seeds  and  seedlings  to  moisture;  phiced  in  a  wet,  undrained  soil,  the 
germinating  power  of  the  first  is  destroyed  and  the  latter  will  perish  on  exposure  to  the  same 
conditions.  A  study  of  the'^'oung  growth  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  over  the  difl'erent  regions  of  its 
habitat  leads  unavoidably  fo  the  conclusion  that  the  chances  ior  the  reproduction  of  its  forests, 
left  to  the  ordinary  course  of  nature,  are  quite  limited,  even  if  the  adverse  conditions  arising 
from  human  agencies  are  left  out  of  consideration.  On  the  lowlands  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  toward 
its  northern  limit  this  pine  is  almost  invariably  replaced  by  the  Loblolly  Pine,  while  farther  south 
and  in  the  coastal  plain  of  the  Gulf  States  east  of  the  INIississippi  Eiver,  after  its  removal,  it  is 
replaced  partly  by  the  Loblolly  Pine  and  largely  by  the  Cuban  Pine.  On  the  wide  expanse  of 
uplands  rising  above  the  coastal  plain  with  their  broad  ridges  of  a  soil  of  sandy  loam,  the  young 
trees  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  are  met  with  in  every  stage  of  growth.  Attaining,  however,  during  the 
first  five  or  six  years  scarcely  a  greater  height  than  the  surrounding  herbage,  the  seedlings  >are 
irredeemably  ruined  by  the  various  destructive  agencies  to  which  they  are  exposed.  On  land  liable 
to  repeated  conflagrations,  a  scrubby  growth,  chiefly  of  barren  oak  and  other  upland  oaks  already 
mentioned,  takes  possession  and  excludes  by  its  shade  the  pine.  If  upon  the  rolling  pine  lands  or 
dry  pine  barrens  the  removal  of  most  of  the  original  tree  covering  is  followed  by  a  succession  of 
barren  years,  the  ground  will  surely  be  invaded  by  the  hard  wood  trees  mentioned,  which  will  retain 
possession.  Under  the  shade  of  these  trees  the  Longleaf  Pine  can  never  again  find  a  home.  In  the 
stronger  soil  of  the  upper  division  of  tlie  maritime  i>ine  belt,  the  region  of  mixed  growth,  where  the 
seedlings  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  spring  up  simultaneously  with  the  hard-wood  trees  and  the  seedlings 
of  the  Shortleaf  Pine,  these  latter  will  eventually  gain  the  supremacy  and  suppress  those  of  the 
Longleaf  Pine;  consequently  the  latter  is  seldom  observed  in  mixed  forests  of  second  growth.  In 
the  flat  woods,  particularly  in  the  pine  flats  of  southwestern  Louisiana  and  Texas,  with  a  soil 
water-soaked  during  the  winter  and  spring,  the  ottspring  of  tlie  Longleaf  Pine  is  still  more  rarely 
met  with  for  the  reasons  stated.  From  these  fiicts  it  is  evident  that,  owing  to  natural  causes, 
combined  with  the  unrestricted  sway  of  the  influences  leading  to  its  destruction  by  human  agency, 
the  oflsi>riug  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  is  rarely  seen  to  occupy  the  place  of  the  parent  tree,  even  in  the 
region  most  favorable  to  its  natural  renewal,  and  that  final  extinction  of  the  forests  of  the  Longleaf 
Pine  is  inevitable  unless  proper  forest  management  is  applied. 

FOREST   MANAGEMENT. 

The  time  for  the  acquisition  of  timber  lands  or  of  the  right  of  working  them  for  their  products 
at  prices  far  below  what  could  be  considered  as  an  adequate  return  for  their  intrinsic  value  has 
well-nigh  passed  away.  Tlie  opportunities  which  existed  during  the  last  twenty-five  years  for 
acquiring  Longleaf  Pine  lands,  which  were  open  to  purchase  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres, 
have  now  in  a  great  measure  ceased  to  exist.  The  greater  part  of  this  kind  of  property  has  passed 
into  the  possession  of  capitalists,  and  the  rest  will  soon  be  similarly  controlled.  Under  this  new 
order  of  things  the  price  of  these  timber  lands  is  gradually  approaching  figures  more  in  proiiortion 
to  their  true  value.  The  depredations  committed  unblushingly  on  the  public  lands,  and  on  the 
lands  of  railroad  corporations  and  private  owners,  are  rendered  less  easy  every  year  under  a  mutual 
protection  of  interest.  Keckless  waste  and  devastation,  heedless  of  the  interests  of  tlie  future, 
are  giving  way  to  a  more  economical  management  of  the  timber  resources  in  the  logging  camp  and 
in  the  mill.  No  measures  have  been  attempted  to  maintain  these  resources  by  sparing  the  younger 
timber  in  its  best  stage  of  growth  from  the  ax,  or  to  provide  in  any  other  way  for  the  protection 
and  preservation  of  the  younger  growth. 


FOREST    MANAGEMENT.  65 

What  has  been  said  of  the  geographical  distribution  of  this  tree  and  its  demands  upon  climate, 
soil,  and  exposure  demonstrates  that  east  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver  it  can  be  successfully  grown  all 
over  the  maritime  plain  of  the  Southern  States  (Austro-riparian  zone)  and  in  the  interior  of  Ala- 
bama, through  a  large  region  of  the  Carolinian  and  the  southern  extension  of  the  Appalachian 
zone  to  an  elevation  above  the  sea  falling  little  short  of  2,000  feet.  And  the  sandy  soils  of  this 
region,  largely  too  poor  for  agricultural  use,  are  par  excellence  Lougleaf  Pine  lands.  In  the  renewal 
of  the  forests  of  Lougleaf  Pine,  upon  areas  denuded,  the  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  to 
l^roduce  timber  which  is  under  iireseut  conditions  considered  of  fair  merchantable  quality  a  period 
of  not  less  than  one  hnndred  and  fifty  years  is  required,  and  that  to  produce  timber  of  the  dimen- 
sions, clearness,  and  durability  for  which  it  is  held  in  such  high  esteem  the  slow  growth  under 
the  severe  and  hardening  conditions  involved  in  the  struggle  for  light  in  the  crowded  forests  is 
necessary.  Hence,  economic  reasons  would  point  to  the  maintenance  and  conservative  manage- 
ment of  the  existing  forests  of  Lougleaf  Pine  and  their  renewal  by  natural  reproduction,  and 
preferably  by  the  method  of  selection  which  under  the  present  conditions  appears  the  most  practi- 
cable, involving  chiefly  methods  of  protection. 

By  this  method  all  or  most  of  the  mature  trees,  corresponding  in  their  proportions  to  the  most 
desirable  quality  of  timber,  are  cut  and  the  rest  left  to  grow  until  they  reach  similar  dimensions,  to 
be  in  their  tarn  replaced  by  the  second  growth,  which  in  the  openings  from  time  to  time  springs 
up.  In  fact,  this  method  was  followed  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  timber  industry  iu  the  several 
regions  of  the  Lougleaf  Pine,  where  the  forests  were  being  culled  for  the  best  sizes  at  intervals 
of  from  fifteen  to  thirty  years.  But  owing  to  the  exhaustion  of  the  mature  pine  from  forests 
within  reach  of  railroad  lines  and  water  courses,  which  necessitates  great  outlays  of  capital 
for  constructing  tramroads  or  waterways,  the  original  practice  of  selection  has  been  abandoned, 
no  tree  being  spared  at  present  that  will  make  a  stick  of  timber,  however  small,  as  long  as 
it  finds  a  sale  iu  the  market.  Care  should  of  course  be  taken  to  leave  always  enough  seed 
trees  evenly  distributed,  and  the  chief  care  is  to  be  directed  to  the  protection  of  the  seedlings 
and  other  young  growth  from  the  destructive  agencies  mentioned — fire,  cattle,  and  the  encroach- 
ment of  invading  species.  A  forest  under  such  management  would  necessarily  present  a  great 
diversity  in  the  growth  of  the  trees,  and  the  length  of  time  between  one  cutting  and  the  next 
would  be  equally  variable.  It  must  be  remarked  that  the  demand  of  this  species  for  the  unhin- 
dered access  of  direct  sunlight  during  the  time  of  germination  and  successive  stages  of  growth 
might  prove  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  continued  success  of  this  method  of  selection ;  and  the  "  group 
method,"  as  described  in  the  report  of  the  chief  of  the  Division  of  Forestry  for  1894,  might  be  sub- 
stituted with  advantage.  Where  it  is  desired  to  reestablish  the  growth  of  Longleaf  Pine  upon 
denuded  areas,  the  ground  must  be  cleared  of  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  free  access  of  the  rays 
of  the  sun  before  the  sowing.  Owing  to  the  ease  with  which  the  seeds  germinate  and  the  seed- 
lings take  root  in  the  ground,  but  slight  preparation  of  the  same  would  be  required,  and  there 
would  be  no  difficulty  in  procuring  a  good  stand.  If  transplanting  is  to  be  resorted  to,  the  seed- 
lings should  be  taken  up  during  the  fall  or  winter  succeeding  the  first  season  of  their  growth, 
before  the  further  development  of  the  rapidly  growing  taproot,  the  precaution  always  being  taken 
to  prevent  any  injury  to  the  rootlets  and  their  drying  out  before  their  transfer  to  the  ground. 
Since  the  trees  clear  themselves  easily  of  branches,  the  stand  in  the  plantation  in  the  earlier 
stages  does  not  need  to  be  as  dense  as  with  other  species.  In  order  to  secure  improvement  and 
permanency  of  favorable  soil  conditions,  the  litter  from  the  shedding  of  the  leaves  and  gradual 
decay  of  herbage  should  be  left  undisturbed  on  the  ground. 

There  can  be  hardly  any  doubt  that  the  introduction  of  other  shady  species  would  greatly 
assist  in  improving  soil  conditions  and  producing  more  rapid  development  of  the  pine.  Care 
would  have  to  be  taken  to  bring  iu  these  species  later,  say  between  fifteen  and  twenty  years,  when 
the  pine  has  begun  to  make  its  rapid  height  growth  and  can  escape  the  shade  of  its  neighbors. 

For  the  present,  however,  the  economic  conditions  are  hardly  yet  ripe  for  any  artificial 
reforestation,  but  the  great  importance  of  this  valuable  forest  resource  to  the  industrial  and 
commercial  development  and  prosperitj'  of  the  people  living  within  its  limits  should  be  apparent 
enough  to  keep  them  at  least  from  preventing  its  natural  reproduction.  The  growth  of  the  young 
timber  after  the  first  few  years  is  rapid  enough,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  table  on  page  57,  and 


66  TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

after  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  when  the  trees  Lave  reached  a  diameter  of  12  inches,  they  can  be 
tapped  for  resin  and  will  give  a  continuous  revenue.  Under  careful  management,  and  by  tapping 
only  the  trees  which  should  be  removed  in  thinnings  to  make  light  for  the  rest,  this  revenue  can 
be  obtained  without  in  any  way  impairing  the  final  harvest  value. 

CONCLTTSION. 

From  the  southern  frontier  of  Virginia,  throughout  the  lower  part  of  the  Southern  States,  to 
the  limits  of  high  and  compact  forest  growth  west  of  the  Mississippi  Kiver,  spread  over  an  area  of 
from  90,000  to  100,000  square  miles,  the  forests  of  theLongleaf  Pine  still  present  a  stupendous  tim- 
ber wealth.  Yet,  if  we  deduct  the  farm  lands,  and  consider  that  large  areas  have  been  culled  or 
entirely  denuded  of  the  original  growth,  we  may  estimate  that  the  amount  of  timber  standing  can 
at  best  not  exceed  100,000,000,000  feet,  and  is  probably  much  less,  while  the  cut,  which  at  present 
does  not  fall  short  of  3,700,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  is  bound,  as  the  Northern  pine  is  giving 
out,  to  increase  at  even  greater  rate  than  in  the  past.  Under  such  a  strain,  outstripping  by  far 
the  i)ossibilities  of  their  reproduction,  the  exhaustion  of  the  resources  of  these  forests  within  the 
near  future  is  inevitable,  and  if  the  devastation  under  present  management  by  the  naval  store 
industry  and  the  destruction  caused  by  fire  and  domestic  animals  is  continued  their  extermi- 
nation as  far  as  practical  purposes  are  concerned  must  be  regarded  as  equally  certain. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  NAVAL  STORE  INDUSTRY. 

The  resinous  product  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  furnishes  the  raw  material  for  the  production  of 
naval  stores,  one  of  the  most  important  industries  in  connection  with  the  resources  of  the 
American  forests.  At  present  the  bulk  of  these  stores  used  in  the  world  is  derived  from  the 
forests  of  Lougleaf  Pine,  and  hence  this  industry  is  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  coast  pine  belt 
of  the  Southern  States,  the  proportion  contributed  by  France,  Austria,  and  other  countries  being 
insignificant. 

For  the  year  1892  the  foreign  export  of  spirits  of  turpentine  alone  amounted  to  over  260,000 
casks  and  the  total  production  exceeded  350,000  casks.  To  produce  this  amount  of  spirits  at  least 
2,500,000  acres  must  have  been  in  orchard,  and  since  over  one-third  of  the  total  production  is 
furnished  by  orchards  being  worked  for  the  first  year,  over  800,000  acres  of  virgin  forest  must  be 
attacked  annually  to  supply  present  demands. 

Under  the  name  of  naval  stores  are  comprised  the  products  derived  directly  or  indirectly  from 
the  resinous  exudation  of  cone-bearing  trees,  mostly  pines,  including  tar,  the  product  of  the 
destructive  distillation  of  the  wood  of  pines  highly  charged  with  resinous  matter.  The  name  is 
undoubtedly  derived  from  their  extensive  consumption  in  the  shii)yards  and  on  board  of  vessels. 
These  products  are: 

RESIN,    OR   CRUDE   TURPENTINE. 

The  resin  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  recently  exuded  is  almost  colorless,  or  of  a  pale  straw  color,  of 
the  consistency  of  honey,  having  a  terebiuthinous  odor  and  taste,  and  like  all  substances  of  the 
same  class  is  insoluble  in  water,  but  soluble  in  alcohol,  ether,  and  spirits  of  turpentine.  It  con- 
sists of  a  volatile  oil  and  a  solid  resin  held  in  solution  partially  suspended  in  the  former.  The  best 
quality  is  obtained  during  the  first  year  the  tree  is  worked,  known  as  "virgin  dip  "  or  "  soft  white 
gum,"  which  is  almost  colorless  and  contains  the  largest  quantity  of  volatile  oil.  In  the  following 
year  it  is  of  a  deeper  yellowish  color,  the  "yellow  dip,"  which  with  each  succeeding  year  becomes 
darker  in  color,  more  viscid,  and  poorer  in  volatile  oil.' 

Toward  the  close  of  the  season  the  resin  becomes  hardened  under  the  influence  of  a  cooler 
temperature  and  the  partial  evaporation  of  its  volatile  constituents.  This  solidified  resin,  of 
whitish  to  yellowish  color,  called  hard  gum  or  scrape,  contains  only  half  of  the  quantity  of  the 
spirits  of  turpentine  obtained  from  the  dip  or  soft  gum.  By  the  distillation  of  the  crude  turpen- 
tine the  naval  stores  of  most  importance  to  trade  are  obtained. 

SPIRITS   OF   TURPENTINE   OR   OIL   01'   TURPENTINE. 

Spirits  of  turpentine,  or  oil  of  turpentine,  is  the  volatile  constituent  of  tlie  resin.  This  liquid 
when  freshly  prepared  is  colorless,  of  a  peculiar  odor  and  taste,  of  a  density  varying  between 
0.S5  and  0.S7,  volatile  at  ordinary  temperatures,  boiling  between  3040  and  320°  F.  It  turns  polar- 
ized light  to  the  right,  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  American  spirits  of  turpentine,  most  of  the 
spirits  from  other  sources  polarizing  the  light  to  the  left.  In  its  pure  state  this  volatile  oil  is  free 
from  oxygen,  being  a  hydrocarbon  of  the  composition  of  GioHie.     It  is  highly  inflammable  and 


'  It  is  still  an  open  question  whether  this  deteriomtiou  is  necessary  or  only  owing  to  faulty  manipulation. 
Experiments  to  settle  this  question  are  now  in  progress  in  the  Forestry  Division. 

67 


68  TIMBEK    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UXITEI)    STATES. 

bnrus  with  a  sooty  flame.  It  is  a  good  solvent  for  mauy  resins,  wax,  fats,  caoutchouc,  sulphur, 
and  phosphorus,  and  is  used  in  the  arts  and  industries  for  the  preparatiou  of  varnishes,  in  paints, 
the  rubber  industry,  etc.  Before  the  introduction  of  kerosene  oil  it  was  used  extensively  for  au 
ilhiininator;  it  is  also  used  in  medicine  internally  and  externally  aud  often  as  an  adulterant  of 
various  essential  oils. 

The  solid  constituent  of  the  crude  turpentine  which  forms  the  residue  remaining  after  its  dis- 
tillation. It  is  of  different  degrees  of  heaviness,  according  to  the  quantities  of  volatile  oil  retained 
after  distillation,  is  brittle,  easily  powdered,  of  a  glassy  luster,  and  of  the  specific  gravity  of  1.07, 
almost  without  taste,  of  a  faint  terebinthinous  odor.  It  becomes  soft  at  about  170°  F.,  melts 
betweeu  194°  and  212°  F.,  and  is  soluble  in  the  same  solvents  as  crude  resin.  According  to  the 
nature  of  the  crude  turpentine,  depending  upon  the  number  of  seasons  the  trees  have  been  worked, 
it  shows  different  properties  in  regard  to  the  transmission  of  light,  aud  in  color.  It  is  either 
perfectly  transparent,  translucent,  or  almost  opaque;  almost  colorless,  or  a  pale  straw  color  to 
golden  yellow,  reddish  yellow,  through  all  shades  to  dark  brown  and  almost  black.  The  market 
value  of  this  article  is  entirely  regulated  by  these  iiroperties.  In  tlie  American  market  the 
following  grades  are  distinguished:  WW  (Water  White)  and  WG  (Window  Glass),  the  lightest 
and  highest-priced  grades,  obtained  from  the  "virgin  dip;"  N  (Extra  Pale),  M  (Pale),  K  (Low 
Pale),  I  (Good  No.  1),  H  (Jfo.  1),  F  (Good  No.  2),  E  (No.  2),  D  (Good  Strain),  C  (Strain),  B  (Com- 
mon Strain),  aud  A  (Black). 

PINE  TAR. 

This  is  not  exactly  a  by-product  of  the  turpentine  orchard,  but  is  produced  by  the  destructive 
distillation  of  the  wood  itself.  It  is  chiefly  produced  in  North  Carolina,  where  this  industry  has 
been  carried  on  since  the  earliest  colonial  times.  Small  quantities  are  produced  in  other  sections 
of  the  Southern  pine  belt,  mostly  for  home  consumption.  Perfectly  dry  wood  of  the  Longleaf  Pine, 
dead  limbs  and  trunks  seasoned  on  the  stump,  from  which  the  sapwood  has  rotted,  are  cut  iu 
suitable  billets,  piled  into  a  conical  stack,  in  a  circular  pit,  lined  with  clay,  the  center  communi- 
cating by  a  depressed  channel  with  a  receptacle — a  hole  in  the  ground — at  a  distance  of  3  to  4 
feet  from  the  pile.  The  pile  is  covered  with  sod  and  earth,  and  otherwise  treated  and  managed 
like  a  charcoal  pit,  being  fired  from  apertures  at  the  base,  giving  only  enough  draft  to  maintain 
slow,  smoldering  combustion.  After  the  ninth  day  the  tar  begins  to  flow  and  continues  for  several 
weeks.  It  is  dipped  from  the  pits  into  barrels  of  320  pounds,  the  standard  weight.  One  cord  of 
dry  "fat"  or  "lightwood"  furnishes  from  40  to  50  gallons  of  tar.  The  price  of  pine  tar  is  quoted 
as  low  as  $1.05  a  barrel.  Since  considerable  quantities  of  tar  are  produced  incidentally  in  the 
destructive  distillation  of  wood  in  iron  retorts  for  charcoal  and  other  jiroducts,  the  price  has 
been  greatly  depressed. 

COMMON   PITCH. 

The  best  quality  is  obtained  by  boiling  down  tar  until  it  has  lost  about  one-third  or  more  of 
its  weight.  The  naval  pitch  of  commerce  has  more  or  less  rosin  of  the  lowest  grade  added  to  it. 
Pitch  is  also  obtained  as  the  residue  remaining  from  the  dry  distillation  of  rosin  fo.r  rosin  oil. 

HISTORICAL    REMARKS. 

The  tapping  of  the  trees  for  the  crude  turpentine  and  the  manufacture  of  tar  aud  pitch  was 
first  resorted  to  by  the  earliest  settlers  of  North  Carolina,  and  iu  later  colonial  times  these  products 
furnished  the  largest  part  of  the  exports  of  the  colony.  In  the  three  years  from  17G8  to  1770 
the  exports  of  crude  turpentine,  tar,  and  pitch  represented  on  the  average  for  each  year  a  value  of 
$215,000  of  our  present  currency.  Most  of  the  crude  turi)entine  was  shipped  to  England.  Later 
the  distillation  of  spirits  of  turpentine  was  carried  on  in  clumsy  iron  retorts  in  North  Carolina 
and  in  Northern  cities.  Tlie  introduction  of  the  copper  still  in  1834  resulted  in  a  was  largely 
increased  yield  of  si)irits  of  turpentine,  and  the  industry  received  a  great  impetus.  With  the  new 
demand  for  spirits  of  turpentine  in  the  manufacture  of  rubber  goods,  and  its  increased  use  as 
an  illuminator,  the  number  of  stills  increased  greatly,  and  turpentine  orcharding  was  rapidly 
extended  south  and  west  beyond  its  original  limit.     The  large  consumption  of  spirits  of  turpentine 


HISTORICAL    REMARKS.  69 

caused  such  aa  increase  iu  its  production  that  the  residuary  product,  rosin,  became  largely  in 
excess  of  the  demand,  and,  iu  cousequence,  much  depreciated.  This  reduction  of  profits  in  the 
business  caused  the  transfer  of  the  stills  from  the  leading  markets  to  the  source  of  the  raw 
material,  the  forest.  From  that  time,  1844,  dates  the  great  progress  made  in  the  extension  of  this 
industry.  Up  to  that  time  more  than  half  of  the  crude  turpentine  was  distilled  in  North  Carolina, 
but  thenceforth  the  industry  spread  into  the  States  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  and  the 
Gulf  States  to  the  Mississippi  Eiver. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  the  demand  for  spirits  of  turpentine  was  not  so  great  as  before, 
petroleum  products  of  several  kinds  having  been  found  to  take  its  place  not  only  for  illuminating, 
but  .also  for  other  purposes.  With  the  general  extension  of  arts  and  manufactures  all  over  the 
world,  there  has  since  been  an  increasing  demand  for  spirits  of  turpentine  and  rosin.  The  exports 
of  these  articles  in  the  year  1890  amounted  to  -^8,135,339  in  value. 

■rriU'KNTINE    OHCIIARl)IX(i    IX    THK    FOUESTS    OF    I.ONGLEAF    PINE. 

In  the  establishment  of  a  turpentine  orchard  and  a  still,  two  points  must  be  considered, 
namely,  proper  facilities  of  transportation  to  shipping  points  and  a  suflScieut  sui)i)ly  of  water  for 
the  condenser  connected  with  the  still.  The  copper  stills  generally  in  use  have  a  capacity  of  about 
800  gallons,  or  a  charge  of  20  to  25  barrels  of  crude  turpentine.  For  such  a  still  to  be  charged 
twice  in  twenty-four  hours  during  the  working  season,  4,000  acres  of  pine  land  of  a  good  average 
stand  of  timber  are  required.  This  area  is  divided  into  twenty  parcels  each  of  10,000  boxes,  as  the' 
receptacles  are  called,  which  are  cut  into  the  tree  to  receive  the  exuding  resin.  Such  a  parcel  is 
termed  a  crop,  constituting  the  allotment  to  one  laborer  for  the  task  of  chipping.  The  work  iu  a 
turpentine  orchard  is  started  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  winter  with  the  cutting  of  the  boxes.  Until 
some  years  past  no  tr'^es  were  boxed  of  a  diameter  less  than  14  inches;  of  late,  however,  saplings 
undei  10  inches  in  diameter  are  boxed.  Trees  of  full  growth,  according  to  their  circumference, 
receive  from  two  to  four  boxes,  so  that  the  10,000  boxes  are  distributed  among  4,000  to  5,000  trees 
on  an  area  of  200  acres. 

The  boxes  are  cut  (see  PI.  VIII)  from  8  to  12  inches  above  the  base  of  the  tree,  7  inches  deep 
and  slanting  from  the  outside  to  the  interior,  with  an  angle  of  about  35°.  In  the  adult  trees  they 
are  14  inches  in  greatest  diameter  and  4  inches  in  greatest  width,  of  a  capacity  of  about  3  pints. 
Tlie  cut  above  this  reservoir  forms  a  gash  of  the  same  depth  and  about  7  inches  of  greatest  height. 
In  the  meantime  the  ground  is  laid  bare  around  the  tree  for  a  distance  of  2i  to  3  feet,  and  all  com- 
bustible material  loose  on  the  ground  is  raked  in  heaps  to  be  burned,  in  order  to  protect  the  trees 
against  danger  of  catching  fire  during  the  conflagrations  which  are  frequently  started  in  the  pine 
forests  by  design  or  carelessness.  The  employment  of  fire  for  the  protection  of  the  turpeutine 
orchards  against  the  same  destructive  agency  necessarily  involves  the  total  destruction  of  the 
smaller  tree  growth,  and  if  left  to  spread  without  control  beyond  the  proper  limit,  often  carries 
ruin  to  the  adjoining  forests. 

During  the  first  days  of  spring  the  turpentine  begins  to  flow  and  chipping  is  begun,  as  the 
work  of  scarification  is  termed,  by  which  the  surface  of  the  tree  above  the  box  is  laid  bare  beyond 
the  youngest  layers  of  the  wood  to  a  depth  of  about  an  inch  from  the  outside  of  the  bark.  The 
removal  of  the  bark  and  of  the  outermost  layers  of  the  wood — the  "chipping"  or  "hacking" — is 
done  with  a  peculiar  tool,  the  "hacker"  (flg.  9,  <,/"),  a  strong  knife  with  a  curved  edge,  fastened 
to  the  end  of  a  handle  bearing  on  its  lower  end  an  iron  ball  about  4  pounds  in  weight,  to  give 
increased  force  to  the  stroke  inflicted  on  the  tree,  and  thus  to  lighten  the  labor  of  chipi)ing.  As 
soon  as  the  scarified  surface  ceases  to  discharge  turpeutine  freely,  fresh  incisions  are  made  with 
the  hacker.  The  chipping  is  repeated  every  week  from  March  to  October  or  November,  extending 
generally  over  thirty-two  weeks,  and  the  height  of  the  chip  is  increased  about  1 J  to  2  inches  every 
month.  The  resin  accumulated  in  the  boxes  is  dipped  into  a  pail  by  a  flat  trowel-shaped  dipper 
(fig.  9,  (/)  and  then  transferred  to  a  barrel  for  trans])ortation  to  the  still.  In  the  first  season  from 
six  to  eight  dippings  are  made.  The  10,000  boxes  yield  at  each  dip  40  barrels  of  "  dip"  or  "soft 
gum,"  as  it  is  reckoned  in  Alabama,  to  be  of  240  pounds  net  weight.  The  flow  is  most  copious 
during  the  height  of  the  summer  (July  and  August),  diminishes  with  the  advent  of  the  cooler 
season,  and  ceases  in  October  or  November.    As  soon  as  the  exudation  of  the  resin  is  arrested  and 


70 


TIMBER   PINES     OP   THE    SOUTHERN   UNITED    STATES^ 


tbe  resiu  begins  to  harden  under  the  influence  of  a  lower  temperature  it  is  carefully  scraped  from 
the  scarified  surface  and  the  boxes  with  a  narrow,  keen-edged  knife  attached  to  a  long  wooden 
handle  (fig.  9,  b,  c).  In  the  first  season  the  average  yield  of  dip  amounts  to  280  barrels  aud 
of  the  hard  gum  or  scrape  to  70  barrels.  The  first  yields  Gi  gallons  spirits  of  turpentine  to  the 
barrel  of  240  pounds  net,  and  the  latter  31  pounds  to  the  barrel,  resulting  in  the  production  of 
2,100  gallons  spirits  of  turpentine  and  260  pounds  of  rosin  of  higher  and  highest  grades.  The 
dippings  of  the  first  season  are  called  "  virgin  dip,"  from  which  the  finest  quality  of  rosin  is  obtained, 
graded  in  the  market  as  Water  White  (WW)  and  Window  Glass  (WG).  In  the  second  year  from 
five  to  six  dippings  are  made,  the  crop  averaging  225  barrels  of  soft  turpentine  aud  120  barrels  of 
scrape,  making  altogether  about  1,900  gallons  spirits  of  turpentine. 

The  rosin,  of  which  about  200  barrels  are  produced,  is  of  a  lighter  or  deeper  amber  color,  and 
perfectly  transparent,  of  medium  quality,  graded  as  I,  H,  and  G.  In  the  third  and  fourth  years 
the  number  of  dippings  is  reduced  to  three.  With  the  flow  over  a  more  extended  surface,  the 
turpentine  thickens  under  prolonged  exposure  to  the  air  and  loses  some  of  its  volatile  oil,  partly 
by  evaporation   aud  partly  by  oxidation.     In  the  third  season   the  dip  amounts  to  about  120 


D 


Flci.  9.— Tools  useil  111  turpeutiue  oruhariUng:  a,  dipper;  h,  pusher;  c,  open  puller;  i(,  closed  puller;  f, /.  liiicker  (Iroiit  ;iud  roar  view). 

barrels  and  the  scrape  to  about  100  barrels,  yielding  about  1,100  gallons  spirits  of  turpentine  and 
100  barrels  of  rosin  of  a  more  or  less  dark  color,  less  transparent,  and  graded  as  F,  E,  and  D. 
In  the  fourth  and  last  year  three  dippings  of  a  somewhat  smaller  quantity  of  soft  turpentine 
than  that  obtained  the  season  before  and  100  barrels  of  scrape  are  obtained,  with  a  yield  scarcely 
realizing  300  gallons  of  spirits  of  turpentine  and  100  barrels  of  rosiu  of  lowest  quality,  classed  as 
C,  B,  and  A.  After  the  fourth  year  the  turpentine  orchard  is  generally  abandoned.  Owing  to  the 
reduction  in  quantity  and  quality  of  the  raw  product,  it  is  not  considered  profitable  by  the  larger 
operators  to  work  the  trees  for  a  longer  time.  It  is  only  iu  North  Carolina  that  the  smaller 
landowners  work  their  trees  for  ten  or  more  successive  seasons,  ijrotect  the  trees  against  tire, 
and,  after  giving  them  a  rest  for  a  series  of  years,  apply  new  boxes  on  spaces  left  between  the  old 
chips — "  reboxing.'' 


The  process  of  distillation  is  carried  on  in  the  ordinary  way,  and  requires  care  and  experience 
to  obtain  largest  quantities  of  rosin  of  highest  grade  aud  to  guard  against  overheating.  After 
heating  the  still  somewhat  above  the  melting  of  the  crude  turpentine,  a  small  stream  of  tepid 
water  from  the  top  of  the  condenser  is  conducted  into  the  still  and  allowed  to  run  until  the  end 
of  the  process.    A  large  quantity  of  water  runs  over  with  the  spirits  of  turpentine,  which  is 


IMPROVED    METHOD    OF    ORCHARDING. 


71 


collected  in  a  barrel,  where  it  separates  from  the  water  aucl  is  then  immediately  transferred  iuto 
barrels.  After  the  oil  has  ceased  to  run  freely  the  heating  of  the  still  and  the  influx  of  water  has 
to  be  carefully  regulated.  After  all  the  spirits  of  turpentine  has  been  distilled  over,  the  fire  is 
removed  and  the  contents  of  the  still  are  drawn  off  by  a  tap  connected  with  the  bottom.  This 
residuum,  molten  rosin,  is  at  first  allowed  to  run  through  a  wire  cloth  and  is  immediately  strained 
again  through  coarse  cotton  cloth  or  cotton  batting,  made  for  the  purpose,  into  a  large  trough, 
from  which  it  is  ladled  into  barrels.  The  legal  standard  weight  of  the  commercial  package  is 
;28()  pounds  gross.  A  turpentine  distillery,  on  the  basis  of  twenty  crops,  produces  on  the  average 
during  the  four  years  that  the  boxes  are  worked  2,400  casks  or  120,000  gallons  of  spirits  of 
turpentine  and  about  12,000  barrels  of  rosin  or  2,800,000  pounds,  the  •lowest  grades,  B  and  A, 
excluded,  a  total  value  of  about  $00,000  at  average  prices.  The  prices  of  spirits  vary  at  present 
from  28  to  40  cents  a  gallon,  even  through  the  same  season,  according  to  supply  and  demand  in 
the  market.  The  average  quotations  on  December  30,  1892,  at  Wilmington  were  28  cents  for 
spirits  and  $1.91  for  a  barrel  of  rosin  down  to  grade  0. 

COST  OF   ESTABI-ISHING   A   PLANT  AND   WORKING   TIIK   CHOPS. 

Timber  lands  with  the  privilege  of  boxing  the  timber  for  a  term  of  four  years  are  rented  at  the 
rate  of  $50  per  crop  of  10,000  boxes,  or  200  acres.  The  establishment  of  a  plant  for  the  working  ot 
twenty  crops,  or  4,000  acres  of  timber  land,  requires  an 
investment  of  about  $.5,000,  including  the  buildings,  stills, 
machinery  for  pumping  water,  tools,  and  teams.  Accord" 
ing  to  the  statements  of  an  experienced  operator,  the  cost 
of  working  the  trees  of  one  crop  during  the  four  years, 
which  is  mostly  done  by  the  job — that  is,  the  making  and 
cornering  of  the  boxes,  inspecting  the  same,  raking 
around  the  trees,  chipping,  dipping,  scraping,  hauling  the 
crude  turpentine  to  the  still,  including  cost  of  barrels  for 
spirits  of  turpentine,  and  for  the  rosin,  and  superintending 
the  crops — amounts  to  about  $2,300  per  crop,  or  $46,000  for 
the  twenty  crops.  If  to  this  amount  the  interest,  C  per 
cent  per  annum,  on  the  capital  invested  and  the  deprecia- 
tion of  the  value  in  the  plant  during  the  four  years  is 
added,  with  some  other  incidental  expenses  (taxes,  etc.), 
the  cost  of  the  production  of  the  120,000  gallons  of  spirits 
of  turpentine  and  12,000  barrels  of  merchantable  I'osin 
foots  up  to  not  less  than  $50,000. 

A  method  of  improving  on  the  present  practice  by. 
employing  an  earthen  pot  instead  of  the  injurious  "box" 
has  been  patented  and  practically  introduced  by   J.  C. 
Schulcr,  of  West  Lake,  La.     The  arrangement  is  repre-  f.«.  io.-in>,.rovedmeti,o,i  .,f  tnnuntincor.hardiug. 
sented  in  lig.  10,  its  main  feature  being  an  earthen  pot 

which  can  be  moved  as  the  scar  is  lengthened,  thus  reducing  the  distance  over  which  the  resin 
has  to  flow,  and  with  this  the  amount  of  volatilization  and  loss  of  spirits  of  turpentine.  The 
method  resembles  that  employed  in  France  (see  Report  of  Chief  of  Forestry,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  1892,  page  347),  and,  though  its  general  application  in  this  country  is 
not  yet  secured,  it  is  certainly  a  step  in  the  right  direction. 

Mr.  Schuler  admits  that  the  first  cost  for  providing  the  cups,  putting  them  up,  and  removing 
them  the  second  season  raises  the  expense  of  working  a  crop  of  10,000  cups  for  two  seasons  to  84C0, 
against  $190  for  cutting  10,000  boxes  expended  under  the  old  system  iu  working  one  crop  for  two 
seasons,  all  other  expenses  connected  with  the  work  being  considered  eciual.  On  the  other  hand, 
Schuler  claims  that  the  difference  is  vastly  overbalanced  by  the  increased  yield  of  crude  turpentine 
obtained  by  his  cup  method,  amounting  for  one  crop  worked  two  years  to  195  barrels,  at  $3.50  per 
barrel;  after  deducting  the  extra  expense  involved  by  his  method,  this  would  leave  a  net  balance 
of  8410  per  crop  in  favor  of  the  cup  system.  He  also  claims  that  this  amount  is  still  further 
augmented  if  the  larger  quantity  of  spirits  of  turpentine  and  the  higher  (piality  of  resin  obtained 


72  TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

^  from  the  dippings  under  his  system  are  taken  into  account.     On  the  first  point  he  says  that  fully 

"^  one-eighth  of  the  crude  turpentine  brought  to  the  still  from  the  boxes  consists  of  chips,  sand,  and 

other  foreign  matter,  contaminations  from  which  the  product  of  the  cups  is  entirely  free.     On  the 

second  point  he  refers  to  the  high  grades  of  rosiu  resulting  from  the  distillation  of  the  crude 

turpentine  from  the  cups,  which  almost  entirely  classes  with  the  highest  and  higher  grades. 

EFFECTS  OF  THE   PRODUCTION   OF   NAVAL   STORES   UPON   THE   TIMlSKIt,   THE  LIFE  OF  THE  TliEE,  AND  THE  CONDITIONS 

OK   THE   FOREST. 

In  the  present  management  of  the  turpentine  orchards  in  the  Southern  pine  forests  a  great 
deal  of  crude  turpentine  is  wasted,  much  of  the  valuable  spirits  of  turpentine  is  lost  by  volatilization 
in  passing  over  the  long  chip  face  on  its  way  to  the  box,  and  much  of  the  resin  is  lowered  in  its 
grade  and  value  by  oxidation  consequent  to  exposure  and  by  admixture"  of  foreign  substances — 
bark,  coal,  dust,  etc. 

Concerning  the  effect  of  the  tapping  of  the  trees  upon  the  timber,  there  exists  no  reason  on 
l^hysiological  or  anatomical  grounds  for  .considering  it  injurious,  and  the  opinion  held  by  many, 
that  the  qualities  of  timber  are  impaired  by  bleeding,  finds  no  support  when  it  is  considered  that 
the  heartwood  remains  unatfected.  The  resinous  contents  of  the  heartwood  being  solidified  and 
the  formation  of  the  resin  taking  place  only  in  the  newly  formed  wood,  the  heartwood  can  not 
participate  in  the  tiow  of  the  resin,  the  discharge  being  necessarily  confined  to  the  sapwood. 
This  fact  has  been  fully  substantiated  by  the  work  of  the  Division  of  Forestry,  by  which  it  has  not 
only  been  shown  that  the  strength  of  the  heartwood,  the  most  important  if  not  the  only  jiart  of  the 
tree  used  for  lumber,  has  in  no  wise  been  diminished,  but  also  that  the  durability  of  the  timber,  as 
far  as  it  depends  upon  its  resinous  contents,  can  not  be  impaired  by  bleeding.  It  is  only  in  that  part 
of  the  butt  log  around  the  chip  that  the  quality  of  the  timber  becomes  somewhat  impaired — the 
wood  becoming  highly  charged  with  resin  is  rendered  more  brittle  and  harder  to  work,  with  a 
tendency  to  gum  up  the  tools.  Indirectly,  howevei',  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  boxed  timber 
becomes  damaged  if  not  utilized  shortly  after  having  been  bled.  It  is  often  left  standing  for  a 
number  of  years,  exposed  to  various  destructive  agencies,  such  as  insects  and  fire,  followed  by 
parasitic  fungoid  growth.  Large  Capricorn  beetles  bore  their  way  through  the  callus  surrounding 
the  chip  and  through  and  beyond  the  sapwood.  Through  the  innumerable  fissures  which  are 
caused  by  fires,  air  and  water  charged  with  the  spores  of  parasitic  fungi  find  entrance  to  the  body 
of  the  tree,  causing  disease  and  decay.  The  damage  from  these  causes  increases  every  year,  so  that 
from  them  alone  the  timber  from  a  turpentine  orchard  abandoned  for  a  dozen  years  was  found 
damaged  to  the  extent  of  fully  20  i^er  cent.  Although  the  loss  of  its  resin  by  bleeding  results 
physiologically  in  no  direct  injury  to  the  tree,  the  wound  infiicted  by  tapping,  like  any  other  wound, 
interferes  with  its  healthy  growth  and,  particularly  in  the  case  of  trees  of  smaller  size,  causes  their 
early  decay.  While  the  exuded  resin  covering  the  excoriated  surface  of  the  tree  acts  as  an  eflicient 
antiseptic,  aflbrding  a  firm  protection  against  the  access  of  the  spores  of  fungi,  it  endangers  the 
life  of  the  tree,  if  exposed  to  fire,  by  its  greater  inflammability,  the  heat  produced  by  its  flame 
being  capable  of  killing  the  trees  outright.  Under  the  crude  and  inconsiderate  manner  of  cutting 
the  boxes,  all  of  the  trees  of  smaller  size  and  many  of  the  larger  trees  are  blown  down,  and  a 
considerable  number  of  those  remaining  with  their  excoriated  surfaces  out  of  proportion  to  the 
recuperative  power  of  the  trees  are  doomed  to  perish  sooner  or  later  in  consequence  of  such 
treatment. 

These  injuries  inflicted  upon  the  individual  trees,  in  connection  with  the  fires  started  with  the 
opening  of  the  season  one  year  after  another,  cause  such  damage  to  the  forests  as  to  effect  tiually 
their  total  destruction.  Fire  being  allowed  to  sweep  over  lai-ge  areas,  its  force  increased  in  the 
turpentine  orchards  by  the  exposed  resinous  surfaces  of  the  trees,  and  by  trees  blown  down  and 
the  debris  covering  the  ground,  an  immense  amount  of  timber  is  destroyed.  Trees  which  have  not 
been  killed  outright  by  the  fire,  or  have  altogether  escaped  the  danger,  are  doomed  to  speedy 
destruction  by  bark  beetles  and  pine  borers,  which  find  a  breeding  place  in  the  living  trees 
prostrated  by  the  winds  during  the  summer,  the  broods  of  which  rapidly  infest  the  standing  trees, 
which  invariably  succumb  to  the  pest  the  same  season.  In  consequence,  the  forests  invaded  by 
turpentine  orcharding  present,  in  five  or  six  years  after  they  have  been  abandoned,  a  picture  of 
ruin  and  desolation  painful  to  behold,  and  in  view  of  the  destruction  of  the  seedlings  and,  the 
younger  growth  all  hope  of  the  restoration  of  these  magnificent  forests  is  excluded. 


LOXGLEAF  PINE  IN  HIGHLANDS.  73 

LONGLEAF  PINE  IN  HIGHLANDS. 

Under  date  of  August  5,  1890,  Dr.  Molii-  sends  the  following  interesting  note  descriptive  of  a 
tract  of  Longleaf  Pine  grown  at  the  remarkable  altitude  of  2,000  feet: 

la  my  investigations  of  the  flora  of  the  region  of  greatest  elevation  iu  Alabama  I  was  surprised  to  find  the 
Longleaf  Pine,  -which  forms  the  greater  part  of  the  tree  growth  ou  the  flanks  of  the  mountains  in  the  region  of  the 
State,  to  ascend  to  a  height  of  1,600  to  1,700  feet  above  the  sea — (Chenawhaw  Mountain,  Olay  County,  2,400  feet). 
\\'hereas  I  found  the  tree  to  disappear  at  an  elevation  of  about  1,500  feet  ou  the  lilue  Mouiitaiu  nr  Talhulega  Mountain 
Range  about  Chandler's  Spring,  Talladega  County,  and  on  the  isolated  ridges  of  the  Alpine  Mnuiitains  in  the  same 
county  (in  1893),  Prof.  E.  8.  Smith  and  Mr.  Brewer,  assistant  geologist,  found  at  points  of  t lie  same  mountain  range, 
.")  or  6  miles  farther  to  the  south,  the  Longleaf  Pine  at  an  elevation  little  short  of  2,000  feet. 

From  my  observations  in  former  years  I  was  convinced  that  the  pine  forests  of  the  me  [amorphic  regions  of  Ala- 
bama deserved  no  mention  among  the  timber  resources  of  the  State,  however  valuable  they  might  be  as  a  resource 
for  fuel  in  connection  with  the  mineral  resources  of  these  parts  of  the  State.  I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  hear,  on 
my  trip  of  last  week,  of  a  sawmill  with  a  daily  output  of  from  65,000  to  70,000  feet  of  lumber  of  Longleaf  Pine,  situated 
in  the  lower  part  of  Clay  County,  at  the  outskirts  of  the  geological  formation  mentioned.  Yesterday  morning  I  visited 
the  pine  forests  from  which  the  supplies  of  this  large  and  well-condncted  establishment,  at  Hollins,  on  the  Georgia 
Pacific  Railroad,  are  drawn.  There  I  found  the  foothills  and  narrow  v.alleys  between  them,  at  an  elevation  of  from 
1,400  to  1,.")00  feet,  covered  with  a  truly  magnificent  forest  of  Pluua  jmhistrb,  yielding  to  the  acre  as  much  merchant- 
able timber  as  the  best  class  of  pine  lands  in  the  coast  pine  belt  from  Alabama  to  Texas.  The  trees  are  tall;  some 
of  them  measured  ou  the  ground  were  found  from  110  to  118  feet  total  height,  with  the  crown  GO  feet  above  the 
grouud,  and  the  shaft  clear  of  heart  and  limb  for  almost  the  whole  of  that  length;  two  cuts  of  20  feet  each  above 
the  stump  are  generally  free  from  blemish.  The  surface  soil  appeared  as  arid  and  poor  as  that  found  on  the  steep 
declivities  of  the  main  ranges.  Its  pine  timber  growth  w.is  to  me  indeed  an  enigma,  which,  however,  soon  found  its 
solution  by  examining  in  a  deep  cut  the  sub.soil  condition;  the  decomposeddioritie  schist,  forming  a  kind  of  soft  marl 
for  a  great  depth,  oft'erod  no  obstacle  to  the  long  taproot  of  the  pine.  These  hills  extend  for  a  length  of  about  6 
miles  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  by  a  width  scarcely  exceeding  2  miles.  I  could  not  learn  that  any  other  locality 
is  found  in  the  same  geological  formation  of  an  equal  extent  with  the  same  conditions  of  the  timber  growth. 


25666— No.  13—02- 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES  ON  LONGLEAF  PINE. 

By  FiLUiERT  Roth. 
(September  1,  1897.) 

Tliougli  this  species  is  well  recognized  wherever  it  grows,  aud  receives  almost  uuiversally  the 
name  of  Longleaf  or  Lougstraw  Piue,  the  two  terms  "Yellow  Pine"  and  '•  Pitch  Pino"  .are  often 
confusing.  Unfortunately,  these  names  are  most  common  at  the  points  of  manufacture  and  with 
men  who  know  but  little  about  the  trees  themselves.  Whenever  used  knowingly,  the  term  "  Yellow 
Pine"  refers  to  very  old,  slow-grown  trees  of  Longleaf,  with  a  very  flue,  smooth  bark,  extremely  line 
grain  (narrow  rings),  and  with  very  narrow  sai>wood  (1  inch  or  less).  The  term  "  Pitch  Pine,"  on 
the  other  hand,  refers  to  younger  trees,  of  more  rapid  growth,  wider  sap,  and  consequently  with 
more  pitch  or  resin.  It  is  self-evident  from  this  that,  as  these  trees  grow  older,  intermediate 
forms  occur  to  which  one  man  gives  one  name,  the  next  man  another. 

In  its  distribution  the  Longleaf  presents  some  vei-y  interesting  features.  In  I^forth  Carolina, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Albemarle  Sound,  this  tree  is  frequently  wanting  over  large  tracts,  and  then 
again  covers  several  hundred  acres  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  other  pines.  Along  the  western 
coast  of  Florida  it  goes  as  far  south  as  Fort  Myers,  on  the  Oaloosahatchee  Eiver,  comes  right  up  to 
the  salt  marshes  or  bluffs,  with  but  a  slight  fringing  of  Cuban  and  Pond  Pine,  except  in  the  few  cases 
where  large  hammock  swamps,  like  the  Gulf  Hammock  and  Chessahowitzka  Swamp,  occupy  the 
space  between  pinery  and  ocean.  In  Texas  the  Longleaf  is  rather  sharply  limited,  and  the 
transition  is  very  abrupt  from  Longleaf  Pine  forest  into  a  pinery  of  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf  mixed 
with  hard  woods. 

As  mentioned  in  the  monograph,  the  dimensions  to  which  the  tree  grows  do  not  vary  greatly 
in  different  sections  from  East  to  West.  There  are  just  as  fine  trees  in  North  Carolina  as  occur  in 
Georgia  or  in  Louisiana  and  Texas.  An  exception  to  this  occurs  in  the  case  of  the  extremely 
barren,  dry  sands  of  Florida,  where  this  tree  commonly  attaiiis  a  height  of  scarcely  GO  feet,  with 
about  25  to  3.5  feet  of  log  timber.  Frequently  thousands  of  trees  are  seen  on  a  section  with  a  total 
height  of  less  than  .50  feet,  and  the  top  flattened,  resembling  more  that  of  river-bank  cypress  than 
pine.  Injustice  to  this  pine,  however,  it  must  be  said  that  what  it  lacks  in  size  it  fully  makes  up 
in  quality,  for  there  is  no  finer-grained,  heavier,  and  stronger  pine  in  the  market  than  is  cut  on 
these  pine  sand  barrens  of  Florida.  Strange  to  say,  even  on  these  dry  and  barren  sands  the 
development  or  the  growth  of  the  young  tree  is  most  astonishing.  Leaders  (end  shoots)  of  over 
24  inches  in  length  on  trees  G  to  15  feet  high  are  common,  and  the  increase  in  diameter  is  fully 
in  keeping  with  this  rapid  upward  growth. 

In  the  Caroliuas,  Georgia,  and  Florida  there  are  springing  up  multitudes  of  groves  of  young 
Longleaf  Pines,  and  all  stages  may  be  seen,  from  the  seedling,  resembling  much  more  a  large 
bunch  of  coarse  grass  than  a  pine,  and  the  sapling  with  its  straight,  stiff,  few-limbed  but  never 
bush-like  form,  to  the  pole  size,  40  to  GO  feet  high  and  8  inches  in  diameter,  with  its  small  crown 
and  a  shaft  well  cleaned  of  branches,  wliether  grown  in  the  open  or  in  the  midst  of  a  thicket. 

Unfortunately,  many  of  these  fine  young  groves  fall  victims  to  the  universal  bleeding  for 
turpentine,  followed  by  fire,  which,  however,  in  many  localities  is  now  recognized  by  the  prudent 
resident  as  fast  becoming  a  curse  to  the  community,  not  only  by  destroying  a  valuable  source 
of  revenue,  but  by  alienating  people  from  their  legitimate  business  of  farming.  Turpentine 
orcharding  is  still  continued  everywhere  in  the  pinery  of  North  Carolina  along  and  west  of  the 
Wilmington  and  Weldon  Railroad.  Tlius  far  the  very  narrow  sapwood,  ijromising  but  a  small 
yield  and  frequently  leading  to  "  dry  faces,"  i.  e.,  a  drying  up  of  that  portion  of  the  tree,  seems  to 
74 


LOJfGLEAF    PINE.  75 

have  held  back  the  industry  from  the  slowly  grown  pines  of  Florida.  Some  operators,  however, 
claim  that  the  long  season  more  than  makes  up  for  this  defect.  To  what  extent  this  is  correct 
remains  to  he  seen.  In  Louisiana  and  Texas  bleeding  is  not  carried  on  even  to  the  extent  to 
which  it  is  commendable.  How  long  trees  of  this  species  can  withstand  bleeding  and  its  effects 
is  well  illustrated  by  old  trees  in  Bertie  County,  N.  C,  which  were  bled  fully  eighty  years  ago, 
and  much  injured  by  fire  which  "ate  into  the  box  and  "  face."  These  trees  are  generally  sound, 
have  good  crowns,  and  show  a  fiiir  growth  for  trees  of  their  size  and  age.  Owing  to  peculiarities 
of  the  market,  the  butt  cut  of  these  logs  is  usually  rejected,  and  therefore  left  in  the  woods. 

Longleaf  Pine  is  still  largely  cut  into  timber,  i.  e.,  pieces  thicker  than  4  inches;  much  is  sawn 
to  order,  the  entire  trunk,  therefore,  being  generally  cut  into  one  or  two  lengths  in  logging. 
Special  sizes,  and  also  boards  of  great  length  and  odd  widths,  are  manufactured  in  great  quanti- 
ties for  export.  The  bulk  of  Longleaf  is  still  cut  with  circular  saws  and  is  not  dried  in  kilns, 
though  both  baud  saw  and  dry  kiln  have  been  and  are  used  successfully. 

Among  the  diseases  to  which  this  tree  is  subject,  the  disease  of  the  cones,  recently  discovered 
and  studied  by  Dr.  W.  T.  Swingle,  deserves  attention.  The  cones  are  attacked  during  the  firs 
year  of  their  existence,  and  instead  of  attaining  only  about  1  inch  in  size,  they  swell  up  to  the  size 
of  a  second-year  cone  (3  inches  and  mqre),  and  take  on  a  bright  orange  color.  Only  cones  of 
this  species  and  of  Finus  hcterophyJla  have  so  far  been  found  affected. 


13,  Division  nf  Foi 


THE  CUBAN   PINE. 

(PINUS    HETEROPHYLLA    (ELL.)    Sudw.) 


Geographical  Distribution. 

Products. 

Classification  and  Komenclaturk. 

Description  and  Morphological  Characters. 

Progress  op  Development. 

Rei^uirements  for  Dkvelop.-ment. 

Additional  Notes  on  Cuban  Pine. 


THE     CUBAN     pine:. 

(Pinna  iKhrophijna  (Ell.)  Siuhv.) 

Synonyms:  Pmus  Tada  var.  hekrophylla  Elliott,  Sk.,  li,  636  (1824). 

Piiiua  CuhenaU  Grisebach,  in  Mem.  Am.  Acad.,  viii,  pt.  2,  530  (1863),  not  Hort.  ox  Gord.  (1858). 

Piinta  Cultensxs  var.  teittirocarpa  Wright  iu  Grisebacli,  Cat.  PI.  Cubeii.,  217  (186(5). 

Piiim  Elliotlii  ringelmaim  ex  Vasey,  Cat.  Forest  Trees,  30;  in  Kep.  Com.  Ag.  1875, 178  (1876). 

Pitim  EUioiln  Eugelinann,  in  Trans.  St.  Louis  Acad.,  iv,  186,  t.  1,  2,  3  (1879). 

Pinus  helcrophiilla  (Ell.)  Sudworth,  in  Bull.  Torr.  Hot,  CI.,  XX,  45  (1893). 

COMMON  OK  LOCAL  NAMES. 

Blash  Pine  (Ala.,  Miss.,  Ga.,  Fla.).  I'itcli  Pine  (Fla.). 

Swamp  Pine  (Fla.,  Miss.,  Ala.),  in  part.  She  Pitch  Pine  (Ga.). 

liastard  Pine  (Ala.  lumbermen.  Fla.).  She  Pine  (Ga.  and  Fla.). 

Meadow  Pine  (Fla.,  E.  Miss.),  iujiart.  Spruce  Piue  (So.  Ala.). 


THK   CUBAN    PINE. 


By  CuAiii.Kw  MOHR,  Ph.  1) 


INTRODUCTORY. 

Confined  withiu  narrow  limits  along  the  coast  of  tbe  extreme  Southern  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  little  known  and  mostly  confounded  with  its  allied  species,  the  value  of  the  Cuban 
Pine  has  been  scarcely  recognized.  A  closer  investigation  of  the  properties  of  its  wood,  of  its  life 
history,  and  of  the  part  it  plays  among  the  forest  gron^th  soon  discloses  its  economic  importance. 
Convinced  that  to  meet  proper  appreciation  tlie  merits  possessed  by  this  pine  need  only  to  be 
made  more  generally  known,  their  consideration  in  this  place  among  the  biological  investigations 
of  the  more  important  timber  trees  of  the  coniferous  order  will  explain  itself. 

This  tree  was  not  known  to  the  earlier  American  botanists.  Elliott  first '  took  notice  of  it  as 
a  distinct  form,  and  he  regarded  it  as  a  variety  of  the  Loblolly  Pine.  It  remained  still  practically 
unknown  as  a  separate  species  for  another  half  century,  until  near  the  beginning  of  the  past  decade, 
when  it  was  again  brought  to  the  notice  of  botanists  by  Dr.  Mellichamp,  of  Bluffton,  S.  C;  Dr. 
Engelmann  exhibited  clearly  its  specific  characters,  and  for  the  first  time  directed  attention 
to  the  economic  value  of  this  pine  by  discussing  the  development  of  the  tree  and  the  qualities  of 
its  timber.-  On  account  of  the  coarser  grain  of  its  wood  and  the  large  amount  of  sapwood,  this 
timber  was  held  to  be  of  little  value,  and  the  tree  received  little  or  no  attention  by  the  lumberman. 
It  is  only  very  lately,  especially  since  kiln-drying  has  become  more  general,  that  its  value  is  being 
recognized  and  appreciated,  and  under  the  name  of  "Slash  Pine"  it  is  cut  and  sold  without 
discrimination  with  the  Longleaf  Pine,  with  which  it  is  usually  associated. 

GEOGRAPHICAL    DISTBlBUTtON. 

The  Cuban  Pine  is  a  tree  of  the  coast  regiou  in  the  subtropical  region  of  North  America  east  of 
the  Mississippi  Kiver,  and  also  of  the  neighboring  tropics,  being  found  in  Honduras  and  Cuba 
(see  PI.  III).  In  the  United  States  the  tree  is  confined  to  the  eastern  belt  of  the  Austro-ripariau 
or  Louisianian  life  zone  of  American  biologists,  from  33^  north  latitude  in  South  Carolina  along 
the  coast  to  the  extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  Florida.  Toward  the  west  the  tree  extends 
along  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  to  the  Pearl  River  Valley.  It  is  principally  restricted  to  the  coast 
plain,  but  on  the  (rulf  Coast  and  along  the  water  courses  it  extends  inland  to  a  distance  of  fully 
60  miles  from  the  sea.  On  the  Atlantic  Coast  it  penetrates  the  interior  nearly  to  the  limit  of  the 
coast  pine  belt,  as  has  been  observed  in  Georgia  in  the  valley  of  the  Ocmulgee  River,  over  100 
miles  distant  from  tide  water,  (iroves  of  the  Cuban  Pine  skirt  the  low  shores  of  the  numerous 
inlets  and  estuaries  of  these  coasts,  and  cover  the  outlying  islands.  More  or  less  associated  with 
the  Loblolly  and  the  Longleaf  Pine,  it  forms  a  part  of  the  timber  growth  of  the  open  pine  forests 
which  in  unbroken  monotony  cover  the  fiats  for  long-distances.  It  is  only  in  the  lower  part  of 
Florida,  where  the  tree  extends  from  the  Atlantic  across  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  south  of  Cape 
Canaveral  and  Biscayne  Bay,  that,  as  the  only  pine  there,  the  Cuban  Pine  forms  forests  by  itself. 
Toward  the  interior  it  occurs  scattered  among  the  varied  growth  of  broad-leafed  evergreens  and 
cone-bearing  trees  which  cover  the  swamps  along  the  streams.    Since  it  is  invariably  cut  and  sold 

'Elliott,  Sketches  of  the  Botany  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  Vol.  II,  page  263,  1821. 

-  Eugelmaim :  Revision  of  the  genus  Pinii-i  and  description  of  riniis  eUiotiii.  Transactions  St.  Louis  Acad.  Sci., 
Vol.  IV,  186,  1879. 

79 


80  TIMBER    PINES   OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

without  distinction,  no  figures  can  be  given  of  its  annual  consumption,  nor  is  it  possible  to  form 
even  all  approximate  estimate  of  the  standing  supplies.  The  old  timber  soes,  of  course,  as  fast 
as  that  of  the  Longleaf  Pine,  but  in  its  reproduction  it  outstrips  the  latter.  Wherever  in  the 
coast  plain  the  original  growth  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  has  been  removed,  the  Cuban  Pine  takes,  in 
a  great  measure,  possession  of  the  ground,  in  some  localities  associated  with  the  Loblolly  Pine. 
Young  forests  in  every  stage  of  growth  are  seen  covering  tracts  of  greater  or  lesser  extent, 
promising  important  supplies  of  resinous  products,  timber,  and  fuel. 


As  a  timber  tree  the  Cuban  Pine  is  little  inferior  to  the  Longleaf  Pine.  It  furnishes  sticks  of 
large  dimensions  free  from  blemish,  rivaling  in  that  respect  that  superior  variety  of  the  Loblolly 
Pine  called  Itosemary  Pine,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  often  confounded  with  this  tree  in 
the  shipments  of  masts  and  long  spars  made  in  former  years  from  the  southern  Atlantic  and  eastern 
Gulf  ports.  In  the  lumber  mills  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  the  timber  of  this  tree  is  indiscriminately 
sawn  and  shipped  with  that  of  the  Longleaf  Pine. 

It  remains  yet  to  be  proved  whether  the  coarser  structure  of  the  wood  of  the  Cuban  Pine 
would  render  it  less  durable.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  this  very  cause,  which  might  interfere 
with  its  resistance  to  atmospheric  influences  or  to  contact  with  the  soil,  will  be  found  an  advantage 
if  the  preservation  of  the  timber  is  to  be  secured  by  its  impregnation  with  antiseptic  solutions, 
more  open  structure  permitting  readier  infiltration. 

Eesinott.s  producU. — This  pine  abounds  in  resinous  matter.  The  oleoresin,  resin,  or  crude 
turpentine,  when  freshly  exuded,  is  perfectly  limpid,  of  honey-yellow  color,  less  viscid  than  the 
resinous  product  of  the  Longleaf  Pine,  and  to  all  appearances  richer  in  volatile  oil  or  spirits  of 
turpentine,  judging  bj'  the  smaller  amount  of  hard  gum  or  scrape  formed  on  the  tree.  A  sample  of 
the  dip  of  the  first  year  from  South  Carolina  was  to  all  appearance  exposed  for  a  short  time  in  the 
box  to  atmospheric  iufiuences.  Examined  by  Prof.  E.  Kremers,  University  of  Wisconsin,  the  resin 
showed  an  emulsion-like  appearance  and  .separated  upon  standing  into  heavier  granules  and  into  a 
lighter,  transparent,  yellowish  liquid.  Its  specific  gravity  at  20°  C.  was  found  1.0253.  0=32,423° 
(determined  in  1G.26  per  cent  alcoholic  solution).  Distilled  with  water,  the  sample  yielded  16  per 
cent  of  oil  of  the  specific  gravity  0.865  (20°  C).     D=9.G20. 

In  view  of  the  rapid  destruction  of  the  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine,  the  principal  source  of  resin, 
the  future  importance  of  the  Cuban  Pine  in  the  production  of  naval  stores  becomes  at  once 
apparent,  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  it  reproduces  itself  .so  much  more  readily.  Even 
now,  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  a  large  proportion  of  resinous  ])roducts  is  derived 
from  the  young  growth  of  this  pine,  which,  after  the  removal  of  the  original  timber  growth,  took 
possession  of  the  ground.  It  is  claimed  by  the  turpentine  gatherers  in  these  States  that  at  an  age 
of  from  thirty  to  forty  years  the  trees  are  sufliciently  large  for  tapping  with  advantage,  and  that 
protected  against  fire  a  spontaneous  renewal  takes  place,  and  after  a  period  of  forty  years  the  new 
crop  is  ready  for  profitable  exploitation. 

In  Washington  County,  Ala.,  on  the  more  or  less  extensive  flats  that  intervene  between  the 
low  ridges  covered  with  Longleaf  Pine,  the  Cuban  Pine  furnishes  considerable  supplies  of  crude 
turpentine  of  superior  quality.  In  this  section  the  tree  is  known  under  the  name  of  Spruce  Pine, 
a  misnomer,  leading  to  its  confusion  with  an  entirely  difterent  tree,  the  true  Southern  Spruce  Pine 
[Pinus  glabra). 

CLASSIFICATION  AND  NOMENCLATURE. 

Pinus  heterophyUa  is  closely  allied  to  the  Longleaf  Pine,  forming  with  this  and  two  other  species 
inhabiting  the  nearest  tropical  regions — Cuba  aud  Mexico — under  the  subgenus  pinaster,  a  natural 
group  of  trees  with  heavy  resinous  wood,  rigid  long  leaves  from  two  to  five  in  a  sheath,  and 
subterminal  or  lateral,  horizontal  or  reflexed  cones,  designated  by  Engelmanu  as  the  group  of  the 
Euaustrales,  or  longleaf  pines.  First  distinguished  by  Elliott  as  Pinus  ta-da  var.  heterophylla  and 
remaining  subsequently  unknown  for  more  than  fifty  years,  the  specific  characters  of  this  pine  were 
first  recognized  and  fully  described  by  Dr.  Engelmann,  who  in  honor  of  its  discoverer  distinguished 
the  tree  under  the  name  of  Pinus  eUiottii,  finding  himself  soon  afterwards  convinced  of  the  identity 


BOTANICAL    DESCKIPTION CUBAN    PINE.  81 

of  his  species  witli  Pinus  cubensis  of  GriseJ)ach.  Recently  these  various  forms  were  foiind  to  be 
the  same  as  Elliott's,  to  which  they  have  been  referred  with  his  varietal  name  hetero))ltylla  raised 
to  specific  rank.  The  tree  is  little  known  among  the  inhabitants  of  tlie  region  of  its  growth;  it  is 
generally  regarded  as  a  mere  variety  or  bastard  form  of  the  Longleaf  or  the  Loblolly  Pine.  In 
Florida,  where  best  known,  it  is  distinguished  as  the  Slash  Pine,  or  Swamp  Pine;  and  in  the  flat 
woods  along  the  seashore  in  Alabama  and  Mississippi  as  Meadow  Pine.  In  a  few  localities  in 
Alabama  it  is  erroneously  called  Spruce  Pine. 

DESCRIPTION   AND   MORPHOLOGICAL   CHARACTERS. 

The  leaves,  two  or  three  in  a  bundle,  are  surrounded  by  a  smooth  sheath  from  one-half  to 
nearly  an  inch  in  length,  which,  close  and  smooth  durini;-  the  first  season,  become  loose  and 
shriveled  in  the  second  year  (PI.  X,  d).  The  leaves  arc  tidin  s  to  12,  mostly  9  inches  in  length 
and  three-fourths  of  a  line  wide,  glossy,  of  a  deep-green  color  and  closely  serrulate,  with  a  short, 
rigid  point,  rounded  on  the  back,  the  binary  leaves  deeply  concave  and  the  ternate  bluntly  keeled. 
They  arise  from  the  axils  of  fringed  deciduous  bracts,  are  densely  crowded  toward  the  end  of  the 
branches,  and  are  shed  by  the  close  of  the  second  season.  Bundles  with  two  leaves  are  most 
frequently  observed  in  younger  trees  and  almost  invariably  on  the  fertile  branchlets. 

The  resin  ducts  are  internal,  variable  in  size,  and  in  number  from  four  to  six  and  over,  close  to 
the  thin-walled  bundle  sheaths,  which  inclose  two  closely  approximate  flbrovascular  bundles,  often 
coalescing.  The  flbrovascular  region,  like  the  ducts,  shows  no  hypodermal  or  strengthening  cells. 
The  hypodermal  cells  underlying  the  epidermis  are  as  large  as  the  epidermal  cells,  in  the  angles 
of  one  or  several  layers. 

Flowers. — The  catkin-like  nmle  flowers  (PI.  X,  a,  b),  from  l.i  to  2  inches  long,  are  of  dark 
purple  (royal  purple)  color,  supported  on  a  short  stalk  and  surrounded  by  about  a  dozen  involncral 
coriaceous  bracts,  of  which  the  lowest  pair  is  sti'ongly  keeled  (PI.  X,  b,  slightly  magnified),  the 
others  being  oblong  with  fringed  edges.  From  ten  to  twenty  of  these  cylindrical  flowers  are  crowded 
in  dense  clusters  below  the  apex  of  the  youngest  shoots,  and  are  shed  almost  immediately  after  the 
discharge  of  their  abundant  pollen.  The  anthers  are  crowned  with  a  purplish  crescent-shaped 
denticulate  crest.  The  female  flowers  form  an  oval,  pink-colored  anient  borne  on  a  stalk,  from  one- 
half  to  1  inch  in  length,  which  singly,  more  frequently  several  in  number,  are  produced  close  to 
the  terminal  bud  of  the  shoot  of  the  season  (PI.  X,  d).  First  erect,  they  ai'e,  at  the  lapse  of  a 
month,  horizontally  reflected,  the  shoot  bearing  them  increasing  rapidly  in  length  during  the  same 
time,  long  before  the  unfolding  of  its  leaf  buds.  The  involncral  scales  or  bracts  wliich  surround 
the  female  catkin  are  more  numerous,  narrower,  longer,  and  more  membranaceous  than  those  form- 
ing the  involucre  of  the  male  flowers.  The  carpellary  scales  are  round,  with  a  slender,  erect  tip, 
their  lower  half  covered  by  the  broad  refuse  bract. 

A  tree  discovei-ed  by  Dr.  Mellichamps  near  Blufftou,  S.  C,  showed  the  remarkable  anomaly 
of  i^roducing  androgynous  flowers  regularly  every  season.  In  most  of  the  specimens  examined 
every  one  of  the  male  flowers  clustering  around  the  base  of  the  terminal  bud  of  the  very  young 
shoot  had  the  upper  part  of  the  floral  axis  covered  with  I'emale  flowers,  appearing  like  a  distinct 
inflorescence  superimposed  upon  the  staminodial  column,  occupying  generally  one-third  of  its 
height.  In  one  of  the  flowers  they  were  seen  to  extend  near  to  its  base.  In  a  single  instance  it 
was  observed  that  the  female  flowers  extended  on  one  side  of  the  staminodial  column  in  a  narrow 
streak  among  the  stamens. 

In  a  specimen  from  the  same  locality  the  terminal  shoot  of  the  season,  exceeding  in  length  the 
male  flowers  by  which  its  base  was  surrounded,  was  bearing  a  normal  subterminal  female  ament. 
The  short- stalked  cones  are  ovate  or  conical,  rather  obtuse,  horizontally  reflexed,  from  4  to  5  inches 
long,  about  2i  inches  greatest  width,  of  glossy  leather-brown  or  hazel  color  (PI.  XI,  a  and  b); 
scales  about  2  inches  long,  averaging  flve-eighths  of  an  inch  in  width,  somewhat  flexible,  the 
prominent  ridge  of  the  pyramidal  striated  umbo  with  a  short,  mostly  straight,  strong  prickle 
(PI.  XI,  c  and  d).  By  the  end  of  the  first  season  the  conelets  are  scarcely  an  inch  long  (PI.  X,  d). 
Before  the  close  of  the  summer  of  the  succeeding  year,  the  cones  have  reached  their  full  size, 
maturing  during  the  month  of  October.  In  the  ripe  cones,  already  described,  the  apophyses  of 
the  scales  in  the  lower  rows  are  almost  pointless,  becoming  on  the  upper  strongly  mucronate. 
The  cones  remain  on  the  tree  until  the  approach  of  the  next  summer,  leaving  on  their  separation 
the  lowest  rows  of  the  scales  behind. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  X. 

[Figures  natural  size,  uxcept  Avhere  otherwise  noted.] 

Fig.  a,  branch  with  yoiiug  shoot  of  the  season  bearing  a  cluster  of  male  flowers;  h,  male  flower  detached 
showing  basal  iuvolucral  brai'ts,  magnified  three  diameters;  e,  branch  bearing  three  subtcrminal  female  flowers; 
(I,  d,  characteristically  reflexed  immature  cones  of  one  season's  growth. 
82 


PiNUS  HETEROPHYLLA  :    MALE   AND   FEMALE    FLOWERS. 


WOOD    OF    CUBAN    PINE.  83 

The  triaugrtlar  black  roughisli  seeds  2J  to  a  little  over  3  Hues  long,  with  a  few  faint  ridges; 
the  brown,  obtuse,  and  somewhat  oblique  wing  (PI.  XI,  e,/,  </),  about  1  iucb  in  length,  is  deciduous 
in  germination.  This  species  at  all  stages  of  growth  can  be  distinguished  from  the  Loblolly  Pine 
by  the  deep-green  foliage,  the  glaucous  hue  of  the  young,  tender  shoots,  and  varying  number  of 
leaves  in  a  bundle;  from  the  Longleaf  Pine  by  the  thinner,  almost  smooth,  terminal  buds;  and  in 
the  adult  state,  from  both  of  these  species,  with  which  it  is  found  frequently  associated,  by  its 
cones. 

THE    WOOD. 

As  in  the  Loblolly,  the  sapwood  is  wide  in  the  young  trees,  measuring  usually  about  1  inches 
and  forming  in  thrifty  trees  fifty  to  seventy  years  old  about  80  per  cent  of  the  total  volume.  As 
the  trees  grow  older,  however,  this  preponderance  of  sapwood  ceases,  and  in  trees  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  years  old  only  35  to  50  per  cent  of  the  total  volume  of  the  trunk  was  found 
to  be  composed  of  sapwood.  As  in  the  case  of  the  pines  already  mentioned,  the  change  from  sap- 
wood  to  heartwood  begins  when  the  tree  (or  disk)  is  about  twenty-five  to  thirty  years  old,  and  the 
process  is  retarded  as  the  tree  (or  disk)  grows  older,  so  that  when  any  one  disk  is  sixty  years  old 
the  sapwood  contains  about  forty  rings,  and  reaches  eighty  rings  or  more  by  the  time  the  tree  (or 
disk)  is  two  hundred  years  of  age.  As  a  consequence  the  sapwood  of  the  disks  of  the  main  part 
of  the  trunk  in  old  trees  is  formed  of  nearly  the  same  number  of  rings,  and  onlj-  near  the  top  a 
marked  diminution  appears,  while  in  a  tree  sixty  j'ears  old  the  sapwood  of  the  stump  may  have 
forty  rings  and  that  of  a  disk  -tO  feet  from  the  ground  onlj-  twenty-five  rings.  As  in  other  jjines, 
the  width  of  the  sapwood  is  quite  variable  and  is  always  greatest  in  young  and  thrifty  trees. 

When  green  the  wood  of  this  species  is  too  heavy  to  float  well ;  its  weight  varies  chiefly  with 
the  amount  of  sapwOod,  and  is  therefore  greatest  in  sapling  timber.  The  sapwood  itself  is 
frequently  heavier  than  water,  and  where  the  water  in  the  sapwood  and  a  large  amount  of 
resin  in  the  heartwood  combine,  the  weight  of  the  entire  disk  frequently  approaches  60  pounds  to 
the  cubic  foot. 

Kiln-dried,  the  wood  of  trees  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old  was  found  on  au 
average  to  weigh  about  3!)  jiounds  per  cubic  foot,  thus  excelling  in  weight  even  the  valuable  Long- 
leaf  Pine.  The  wood  of  very  young  trees  is  decidedly  lighter,  as  is  also  that  of  very  old  trees, 
the  heaviest  wood  being  formed  during  the  age  of  thriftiest  growth  or  between  the  twentieth  and 
eightieth  year.  The  presence  of  resin  in  the  heartwood,  as  conspicuous  in  this  species  as  in  Long- 
leaf  Pine,  materially  adds  to  the  weight  of  the  wood,  so  that  theheartwftod  of  old  trees  is  invari- 
ably heavier  than  the  same  wood  had  been  while  in  a  sapwood  condition.  As  in  other  pines,  the 
butt  is  heaviest  and  the  top  log  lightest;  thus  in  trees  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  age  the 
wood  at  tlie  butt  weighs  44  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  37  jjounds  at  38  feet,  and  only  32  pounds  at  60 
feet  from  the  stump,  a  difl'erence  amounting  to  over  25  per  cent.  This  difference  is  greatest  in  the 
young  sapling  and  is  remarkably  uniform  for  all  adult  trees  examined. 

In  strength,  as  in  weight,  the  wood  of  Cuban  Pine  excels.  The  following  figures  represent  the 
general  average  of  a  long  series  of  experiments  on  wood  especially  collected: 

Lbs.  per  sq.  inch. 

JIoduhLs  of  elasticity 2.300,000 

Transverse  strength 11,900 

Compre.ssion  endwise 7,  8,50 

Shearing  680 

Tension 14,300 

The  average  weight  of  the  pieces  tested  was  49  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  the  outer  lighter  part 
of  the  old  trees  having  largel  j-  been  cut  away  in  shaping  the  pieces,  so  that  only  heavy  wood  had 
been  tested.  The  above  figures  require,  therefore,  a  reduction  of  about  20  per  cent  to  represent 
the  true  average  strength  of  all  the  wood  of  entire  trees. 

The  amount  of  water  contained  in  the  fresh  wood  depends  on  the  proportion  of  sapwood.  In 
this  latter  it  forms  about  60  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  fresh  wood;  in  the  heartwood  only  about  20 
per  cent.  Accordingly,  fresh  logs  of  trees  seventy  years  old  have  about  45  per  cent,  logs  of  trees 
over  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old  only  about  30  per  cent  water.  The  wood  dries  easily  and 
without  great  injury,  even  if  seasoned  in  the  dry  kiln. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  XL 

Fig.  0,  section  of  a  branch  bearing  a  mature  closed  cone  (October) ;  6,  mature  open  cone  after  shedding  seed; 
c,  c,  c,  tips  of  cone  scales  showing  variation  in  form  of  apophysis  and  stout  prickle;  d.  cone  scale,  outer  or  dorsal  side; 
e,  inner  or  ventral  side  of  cone  scale  with  seed  in  place ;  /,  seed  with  wing  detached ;  '/,  seed  and  wing  intact. 


,  Division  of  Forestry 


D.Cim^-'^^  '^ 


PiNUS  HETEROPHYLLA:    CONE  AND  SEED. 


DEVELOPMENT    OF     CUBAN    PINE.  85 

The  shrinkage  during  drying  is  very  considerable  for  sapwood,  and  therefore  all  young  timber, 
but  is  not  as  great  for  old  timber  as  might  be  expected  on  account  of  the  great  weight  of  the 
wood.  Young  timber  shrinks  from  12  to  13  per  cent  of  its  volume,  the  wood  of  old  trees  (over  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years)  only  about  11  per  cent,  and  in  all  trees  the  amount  of  shrinkage  is 
greatest  in  the  heaviest  disk  of  the  butt  and  decreases  ujiward  very  much  in  proportion  of  the 
decrease  in  weight. 

In  its  structure  the  wood  resembles  that  of  the  Loblolly  in  every  respect.  Sunmierwood 
and  spring-wood  are  sharply  defined,  giving  rise  to  alternating  bands  of  light-colored,  soft  and 
dark-colored  hard  bands  of  wood  conspicuous  in  every  section.  For  details  of  structure  see  the 
comparative  study  by  JMr.  Roth  appended  to  these  monographs. 

PROGRESS    OF    DEVELOPMENT. 

This  is  the  earliest  flowering  of  the  Southern  pines.  The  buds  of  the  male  flowers  make  their 
appearance  in  the  early  part  of  December,  and  the  flowers  open  during  the  last  days  of  January 
and  during  the  first  week  of  February.  This  species  produces  abundant  crops  of  cones  eveiy  year, 
almost  without  failure:  they  ripen  iu  the  fall  of  the  second  year;  the  seeds  are  discharged  through 
the  winter  of  the  second  year  until  spring.  Germinating  easily,  their  seedlings  are  found  to  come 
up  copiously  from  early  in  the  spring  to  the  beginning  of  the  summer  in  old  fields  and  on  every 
opening  in  the  vicinity  of  the  parent  trees,  wherever  the  rays  of  the  sun  reach  the  ground.  The 
plantlets  bear  six  to  seven  seed  leaves  (cotyledons).  As  soon  as  these  have  fairly  expanded  the 
terminal  bud  develops  rapidly,  and  the  first  internode  of  the  stem,  increasing  quickly  in  length,  is 
densely  covered  with  the  soft,  narrow,  linear,  pointed,  primary  leaves,  which  are  fully  an  inch  long. 
Before  the  end  of  the  second  month,  in  the  axils  of  some  of  the  leaves,  the  undeveloped  branchlets, 
bearing  the  fascicle  of  the  foliage  leaves,  make  their  appearance.  With  the  further  development 
of  the  foilage  leaves,  increasing  iu  number  during  the  growing  season,  the  jirimary  leaves  wither 
away.  By  the  close  of  the  first  season  the  plantlets  are  from  8  to  9  inches  high,  with  a  very 
slender  taproot  and  many  lateral  rootlets  near  its  upper  end.  After  the  beginning  of  the  second 
season  but  few  of  the  primary  leaves  are  found  to  support  the  buds  of  the  foliage  leaves.  The 
tendency  to  the  production  of  secondary  axe-^  becomes  manifest  by  the  appearance  of  a  single 
branchlet;  on  having  reached  the  end  of  their  second  year  the  plants  are  from  12  to  15  inches  high ; 
with  a  taproot  not  more  than  4  inches  long;  at  the  end  of  their  third  year  they  average  little  less 
than  2  feet  iu  height,  with  the  taproot  6  inches  long— the  laterals  being  much  longer.  The  crown 
from  this  period  develops  in  regular  whorls  for  a  long  succession  of  years. 

The  Cuban  Pine,  in  its  rate  of  growth  and  when  fully  grown,  equals  in  its  dimensions  the 
Longleaf  Pine.  The  taproot,  less  powerful  than  in  its  allies,  is  assisted  by  mighty  lateral  roots 
running  near  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  support  the  tall,  sturdy  trunk,  rising  to  a  height  of  110 
or  U.5  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  2.J,  not  unfrequently  exceeding  3,  feet,  clear  of  limbs  for  a  height  of 
from  60  to  70  feet  above  the  gTouud.  The  heavy  limbs  are  horizontally  spreading,  from  22  to  24 
feet  at  their  greatest  length,  somewhat  irregularly  disposed;  they  form  in  the  trees  of  full  growth 
a  rather  dense  crown  of  rounded  outline.  Trees  of  the  dimensions  mentioned,  having  passed  the 
fullness  of  their  growth,  are  found  to  be  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  forty  years  old, 
according  to  the  surrounding  conditions.  The  thick  bark  is  of  a  clear,  reddish  color,  laminated, 
and  exfoliating  in  thin,  broad,  purplish  flakes. 

Seedlings  of  the  Longleaf  Pine,  which  those  of  the  Cuban  Pine  somewhat  resemble,  can  be 
readily  distinguished  at  this  period  by  the  disprojjortion  of  height  and  diameter  and  absence  of 
branch  growth  in  the  former.  The  rate  of  growth  ditt'ers,  of  course,  according  to  the  conditions 
of  soil  and  exposure. 

Saplings  showing  five  rings  of  annual  growtii  were  found  from  4i  to  nearly  G  feet  in  height, 
with  a  diameter  of  from  three-fourths  to  seven  eighths  of  an  inch;  between  the  age  of  from  ten 
to  twelve  years  the  trees  measure  from  10  to  18  feet  in  height,  with  the  stem  clear  for  over  half 
its  length — even  when  grown  in  the  open — and  from  2  up  to  4  inches  in  diameter.  From  this 
stage  on  the  rate  of  growth  proceeds  most  rapidly.  At  eighteen  and  twenty  years  heights  of  40 
to  50  feet  and  over,  and  diameters  from  9  to  10  inches  across  the  stump,  cut  close  to  the  ground, 
are  attained. 

-No.  13—02 7 


86 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THK    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STAI'ES. 


The  trees  of  tbe  extensive  groves  of  Cuban  Pine  in  the  vicinity  of  Mobile  upon  tlie  loamy 
lands  of  the  coast  jilain,  which  have  sprung  up  since  1864,  when  these  lands  were  completely 
stripped  of  all  arboreal  growth,  average  at  present  between  50  and  CO  feet  in  height  by  a  diameter 
of  from  14  to  16  inches  breast  high.  Trees  of  second  growth,  forming  open  groves  on  lands  of 
similar  character,  and  also  more  or  less  deficient  in  drainage,  forty-five  to  sixty-five  years  old, 
measure  from  65  to  85  feet  in  height  and  from  15  to  20  inches  in  diameter  breast  high. 

At  the  edge  of  a  heavily  wooded  swamp,  in  a  perpetually  wet,  sandy,  and  mucky  soil,  and 
skirted  by  large  Longleaf  Pines  occupying  the  steep  slope  rising  from  the  bottom,  a  tree  measur- 
ing 114  feet  in  height,  with  a  diameter  of  24  inches  breast  hight,  the  trunk  clear  of  limbs  for  a 
length  of  fully  CO  feet,  showed  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  rings  of  annual  growth.  Another 
tree  felled  deeper  in  the  same  swamp,  of  lank  growth,  with  a  poorly  developed  crown,  rising  to 
a  height  of  88  feet,  and  towering  above  the  dense  growth  of  black  gums,  swamp  maples,  and  white 
bays,  was  found  to  measure  only  15i  inches  in  diameter,  witl'  almost  the  same  number  of  annual 
rings.  Trees  of  second  growth  which  have  sprung  up  in  clearings  with  a  drier  surface  soil  under- 
laid by  a  clayey  substratum,  with  free  exposure  to  sunlight  and  air,  reach  in  little  over  half  the 
time  the  full  size  of  those  produced  in  the  forest-covered  swamps. 

Tablk  I. — (irowlh  of  Cuhan  Pine  during  the  first  stuges  of  life,  from  four  to  twenty  years. 


Rings 

stump. 


Inches.  Inches. 


4 

H 

14 

n 



24 

35 

4 

ii 

3J 

84 

H 

H 

m 

Kuigeiaiid,  s. 
Mobile,  Ala. 


Vos.  1  to  5,  near  Whistler,  Ala. 
i\''et,  sandy,  flat  soil,  very  poor;  open  tliii- 
clearing  of  the  forest. 


Exposure  partially  free;  suppressed  soil;  slii 
Old  tield;  soil  fresh;  from  midst  of  dense  gro 

Open  edge  of  swarap,  somewhat  suppressed. 

Partially  free;  edge  of  swamp. 

Open  grove  of  saplings;  soil  fresh;  old  field. 


soil  blacli,  niuck.> 


Swamp  soil;  slu 
Exposure  free ; 
Undercover  of  ] 


DEVELOPMEXT    OF    CUBAN    PINE.  87 

II. — Growth  of  Cubiiii  Pine  during  middle  and  last  stages  of  life,  from  forty  lo  one  hitiidnd  aiulfurty-ftve  years. 


Rings 
stamp. 

Diameter. 

Height. 

Locality. 

Xo.  of  tree. 

Breast 
high. 

Across 

Below 

Mean. 

Total 
height. 

Length 

crown, 
clear. 

Length 
crown. 

Remarks. 

: 

40 

43 

51 

52 
55 

55 
50 

60 

70 
87 
101 

no 

110 

126 
133 

127 

132 

145 

145 

I7,ches. 

Hi 

12 

124 

17 
1« 

20 
20 
16 

21 
20 
24 

22 

20 

26 
24 

20 

22 

20 

12i 

7«cAm. 

Inches,  j  Inches. 

Feet. 
60 
60 
87 

74 

82 
79 
90 

83 
85 
08 

90 

113 

130 
118 

Feet. 

I 

51 

SO 
40 

50 
47 
59 

« 

71 

78 
60 

SO 

73 

73 

21 

Feet.  ' 

24  ■  Mobile.  Ala 

32  ;  Ridgeland.  S.  C  ... 
Whistler. Ala.... 

36     Mobile,  Ala 

Stockton.  Baldwin 

Oountv.  Ala. 

32     Mobile,  Ala 

32  ! do 

31  ;  Ridgeland  b  C 

42    do 

SoVRidgeiand  •?  C 

30 

42      Whiatbi     \\l 

Midst  of  grove,  crowded:  damp,  sandy 
loam:  clay  subsoil :  surface  flat. 

Exposure  free;  edge  of  swamp;  soil  per- 
'letuallv  cUiTiip. 

F,I^.   .v,„M|.    -nil  fresh  todamp;  growth 

•'«« 

17i 

I;:;::".".".". 

25 
24 

13J 

.....i-r    -,,,„,,    :,ud  gravelly. 
Kxpoflurc  in-i-:  open  grove. 

s::::::::::: 

I?  :::::::: 

289 : 

288 



i.'.  ,„,~.|,  ,,,'.,',   •'  ..  ,,,||V 

i:    [in    , 1  ^Aauip'  soilfresh- 

2''7 

2-'5 

52 
24 

do 

do 

do 

do 

-^  '^.    !-■■:.     ...Hi..,  :.-feet:  sap,  2i 

g 

25 

14i 

2U 

KxpiMurv  Irii-:  soiucwliat  suppressed  by 
luugleafpine;  edge  of  swamp. 

119 

54  feet. 
Base  of  bill:  a  flnelooking  tree:  timber 

116 

67 

do 

do 

7J  ' 

sw:i.np;  M.ilpuresaml.raostlvcuv.ivd 
with  water. 

From  Table  III  the  rapid  growth  of  this  species  is  quite  apparent.  It  will  be  observed  that 
good  trees  are  about  20  feet  high  at  ten,  45  feet  at  twenty,  and  over  SO  feet  high  at  fifty  years 
of  age,  when  the  rapid  rate  of  upward  growth  comes  to  a  stoj).  It  appears,  also,  that  the  greatest 
mass  of  wood  for  any  decade  is  formed  at  the  early  age  of  fifty,  the  growth  in  volume  being  nearly 
15  cubic  feet  for  these  ten  years,  and  that  at  ninety  the  growth  in  volume  is  only  about  two-thirds 
of  the  maximum:  that  at  one  hundred  years  the  average  annual  growth  nearly  e<iuals  the  current 
growth,  thus  indicating  that  the  age  of  proper  exploitation  has  been  reached,  i.  e.,  that  now  the 
tree  is  ripe  for  the  ax,  as  far  as  profitable  growth,  represented  in  volume  accretion,  is  concerned. 

Taulk  III.— Growth  of  Cuban  Pine. 


]   Length 
Diameter     "f'",?    i  1 

with  bark     „„""       Height 


Periduical  growth  for  each  decade. 


high). 

of:-, 
inches. 

Inches. 

Feet. 

10.... 

2.9 

20.... 

5.9 

5 

i)0,.. 

40.... 

12.3 

40 

.iO. . . . 

14.8 

50 

60.... 

IR.O 

60 

17.6 

80.... 

18.8 

70 

90.... 

20.0 

83 

21.4 

96 

120... 

23.4 

100  ' 

1 

Feet.     Cubic  feet,  i  Cubic  feet. 


14. 95 
29.70 
47.01 
59.65 
72.25 


2.44 
13.06 
29.23 


First  .... 
Second... 
Third.... 
Konrtb  .. 
Fifth 

Seventll  . 
Eighth  .  . 
Ninth  ... 
Tenth  ... 

Twelfth  . 


Cubic  feet.'.Cub.  feet. 


88  TIMBER    PINES  OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

REQUIREMENTS   FOR   DEVELOPMENT. 

Soil. — For  its  best  developmeut  the  Cubau  Piue  requires  a  light,  saiitly,  but  constantly  damp 
soil,  which  is  attained  where  the  sandy  surface  is  underlaid  by  a  loamy  subsoil  retentive  of 
moisture  but  sufficiently  loose  to  give  the  roots  unhindered  access.  Such  conditions  are  found  on 
the  lands  rising  above  the  perpetually  wet  swamps.  On  the  flats,  with  a  soil  of  line,  compact 
sand,  devoid  of  all  drainage  and  uiulerlaid  by  a  hardpan,  where  nothing  but  the  Saw  Palmetto 
appears  to  thrive,  the  tree  remains  of  low,  stunted  growth,  scarcely  ever  reaching  medium  size. 
In  the  depth  of  the  swamp,  with  the  soil  wet  and  slushy  throughout  the  year,  where  the  tree  is 
commonly  met  with,  closely  surrounded  by  White  Bay,  lied  Bay,  Black  Gum,  Titi,  and  White 
Cedar  towering  high  above  it,  it  is  of  slow  growth  and  frequently  affected  by  red  heart  or  red  rot, 
particularly  near  its  northern  limit.  It  is  never  found  in  alluvial  bottoms,  and  eschews  the  dry, 
pine-barren  hills,  requiring  a  moderate  but  sure  and  even  sui)ply  of  soil  moisture. 

Climate. — The  range  of  its  distribution  coincides  with  the  area  of  greatest  rainfall  in  the 
Southern  States,  which,  evenly  distributed  through  all  seasons,  amounts  for  the  year,  in  the  mean, 
to  60  and  64  inches. 

The  Cuban  Pine  demands  a  warm  climate,  free  from  excesses  in  the  range  of  temperature,  as 
is  afforded  by  the  vicinity  of  the  sea.  It  is  found  in  greatest  abundauce  and  most  perfect  within 
the  isothermal  lines  of  64°  and  68°  F.,  with  a  minimum  of  but  a  few  degrees  below  the  freezing 
point.  The  tree,  as  observed  at  Mobile,  has  escaped  uninjured  the  severe  and  unprecedented 
long  spell  of  ice  and  snow  during  the  latter  part  of  January  and  lirst  week  of  February,  1S95, 
when  the  thermometer  fell  as  low  as  11°  F.,  the  flowers  unfolding  unimpaired  by  frost  during  the 
succeeding  first  days  of  milder  weather. 

In  its  dependence  on  light  it  is  less  exacting  than  either  the  Longleaf  Piue  or  the  Loblolly 
Pine.  It  appears  to  thrive,  from  the  earliest  stage  of  its  development,  as  well  when  partially 
shaded  as  in  the  open,  in  this  respect  resembling  the  Southern  Spruce  Pine.  It  is  due  to  these 
facts,  combined  with  the  rapid  progress  of  its  growth  from  the  earliest  stage,  that  the  Cuban 
Pine  is  gaining  the  upper  hand  over  the  offspring  of  the  light-requiring  Longleaf  Pine,  which,  on 
the  damp  soil  of  the  coast  plain,  is  soon  outstripped  and  finally  almost  completely  suppressed  by 
the  seedlings  of  this  tree. 

In  the  inherent  capacity  for  natural  reproduction,  or  in  the  advantages  for  the  renewal  of  its 
forests  by  man,  the  Cuban  Pine  is  not  surpassed  by  any  other  of  the  species  with  which  it  is  found 
associated.  This  tree  commends  itself  strongly  to  the  tree  planter  in  the  coast  plain  of  the  lower 
South.  Producing  seeds  in  abundauce  regularly  and  with  certainty,  being  less  exacting  in  its 
demands  for  direct  sunlight,  and  hence  successfully  resisting  the  encroachment  of  competing 
species,  being  less  liable  to  succumb  to  the  destructive  agencies  of  fire  on  account  of  its  more 
rapid  development  in  early  life,  it  has  greater  promise  of  success  than  the  others.  If  to  this  is 
added  the  rapid  rate  of  growth,  the  great  value  of  its  timber,  being  nqaal  to  the  Longleaf,  if  not 
superior,  and  the  abundant  yield  of  its  valuable  resinous  i)roduct,  it  becomes  evident  that  in  the 
reforestation  of  the  low  pine  lands  of  the  Southern  coast  region  the  Cuban  Pine  is  to  be  preferred 
to  any  other,  not  only  within  its  original  boundaries,  but  as  far  beyond  its  range  of  natural 
distribution  as  the  climatic  requirements  of  the  tree  will  permit. 


ADDITIONAL  NOTKS  ON  CUBAN  PINE. 

By  FiLiiiKRT  Roth. 
(September  1,  1897.) 

This  tree,  like  the  Longleaf,  seems  very  generally  known  among  woodmen  wherever  it  occurs 
in  abundance,  and  it  is  usually  designated  as  "  Slash  Pine."  Like  Pond  Pine,  the  Cuban  Pine 
occurs  mixed  with  other  pines,  but  never  seems  to  form  large  forests  by  itself  in  the  districts 
visited.  Along  streams  and  swamps,  and  also  along  the  ocean  shore,  it  usually  forms  a  fringe 
varying  from  a  few  to  several  hundred  yards  in  width.  In  southern  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
this  tree  disputes  terrritory  with  the  Loblolly,  but  in  Florida  it  is  found  either  with  Pond  Pine 
or  alone  covering  the  wet  flats.  More  than  any  other  pine  the  Cuban  Pine  enters  the  real  wet 
swamps,  being  found  in  cypress  pouds  and  even  in  the  wettest  portions  of  the  constantly  water- 
covered  Okefinokee  Swamp.  Like  the  Pond  Pine,  it  is  not  found  in  rich  bottoms  and  hammocks. 
Along  the  coast  of  Georgia  and  the  eastern  half  of  Florida  the  Cuban  Pine  forms  about  1.")  per 
cent  of  all  pine;  it  is  also  quite  abundant  in  the  low  flat  woods  between  the  Suwane  and  the 
Apalachicola,  where  it  forms  about  the  same  proportion;  but  in  all  other  parts  of  the  Gulf  pinery 
where  it  occurs  the  tree  is  too  scattering  to  be  of  any  great  consequence. 

The  size  of  the  Cuban  Pine  depends  on  locality  or  station,  and  while  practically  as  well 
developed  in  South  Carolina  as  in  Alabama  it  is  very  much  inferior  in  the  barren  flats  of  a  large 
part  of  Florida.  Here  this  tree,  like  tlie  Longleaf  of  this  section,  is  short-bodied,  50  to  70  feet 
high,  and  furnishes  a  log  25  to  40  feet  in  length.  But,  like  Longleaf,  Cuban  Pine  in  these  localities 
is  of  a  very  superior  quality,  fine  ringed,  with  little  sap,  of  uniform  weight  and  strength,  and  much 
of  this  timber  could  not  be  distinguished  by  the  best  of  experts  from  high-grade  Longleaf  timber. 
This  fact  is  well  recognized,  and  Cuban  Pine  is  logged  with  Longleaf  without  distinction.  In 
manner  and  rate  of  growth  the  Cuban  Pine  of  southern  (Georgia  and  of  Florida  resembles  Longleaf 
in  several  respects.  Its  growth  while  young  is  extremely  rapid  both  in  height  and  thickness, 
leaders  of  24  to  30  inches  being  not  uncommon.  Like  the  Longleaf,  though  to  less  extent,  this 
tree  cleaus  itself  even  without  crowding,  and  makes  fine,  clean-shafted,  short-crowned  poles  in 
very  open  stands.  This  is  much  more  the  case  on  very  poor  soils  or  localities  where  the  tree 
never  reaches  large  dimensions. 


Shortleaf  Pine  i  Pinus  echinatai,  Forest-qrown  Specimens  in  Missouri. 


THE   SHORTLEAF   PINE. 

(PINUS    ECHINATA   Miller.) 


Economic  History  akd  Distribution. 

Botanical  Description. 

Description  of  Wood. 

Progress  of  Development. 

Conditions  of  Development. 

Forest  Management. 

Additional  Notes  on  Sroutleaf  Pine. 


THE    SHORTLEAK    F»INE. 

{Pinun  echitiala  Miller.) 

Synonyms:  Piinis  ichinnla  Millor,  Gard.  Diet.,  ed.  8,  No.  12  (1768). 

rinits  rhyiuiaiia  var.  echhiala  Dn  Roi,  Harbk.,  ii,  38  (1772). 

Films  Taday  vuriahilis  Kitov,  Hort.  Kew.,  ed.  1,  iii,  368  (1789). 

Finns  mitia  Micbaux,  Fl.  Bor.  Am.,  ii,  204  (1803). 

Finns  rariabilis  Lambert,  Pinus,  ed.  1,  i,  22,  t.  15  (1803). 

Finns  Koyleaiia  Jamieson  ex  Liudley,  in  Journ.  Hort.  Soc,  ix,  52  (1855). 

Finns  intermedia  Fischer  ex  Gordon,  Pinetum,  ed.  1,  170  (1858),  not  Du  Roi  (1772). 

Finns  rigida  Porcher,  Resources  S.  States,  504  (1803),  not  Miller  (1768). 

Finns  hilea  Loddiges  ex  Gordon,  Piuetum,  ed.  1,  170  (1858),  not  Walter  (1788). 

Finns  Eoylei  Lindley  ex  Gord.,  1.  c.  (1858). 

COMMON  OR  LOCAL  NAMES. 


Yellow  Pine  (N.  Y.,  N.  J.,  Pa.,  Del.,  Va.,  N.  C,  Ala.,  Miss., 
La.,  Ark.,  Mo.,  111.,  Ind.,  Kaus.  (scarce),  Ohio). 

Sbortleaved  Pine  (N.  C,  S.  C,  Ga.,  Ala.,  Miss.,  Fla.,  La., 
Tex.,  Ark.). 

Spruce  Pine  (Del.,  Miss.,  Ark.). 

Bull  Pine  (Va.). 

Short  Scb at  Pine  (Del.). 

Pitch  Pine  (Mo.). 

Poor  Pine  (Fla.). 
92 


Sbortleaved  Yellow  Pine. 

Yellow  Pine  (N.  C,  Va. ;  Eng.  lit.). 

Virginia  Yellow  Pine  (Va.,  in  part). 

North  Carolina  Yellow  Pine  (N.  C,  Va.,  in  part). 

North  Carolina  Pine  (N.  C,  Va.,  in  part). 

Carolina  Pine  (N.  C,  Va  ,  in  part). 

Slash  Pine  (N.  C,  Va.,  in  part). 

Oldlield  Pine  (Ala.,  Miss.). 


Bulletm  No,   13,  D: 


Shortleaf  Pine  (Pinus  echinata),  a  Roadside  Specimen  in  North  Carolina. 


Iletln  No.  13,  Division  o<   Forestry 


THE   SHORTLEAF   PINE. 


By  Charles  Moiir,  Ph.  D. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

Among  the  timber  trees  of  the  Atlantic  forest  region  the  Shortleaf  Piiie  ranks  with  the  first 
of  those  noted  for  their  economic  importance.  Equally  abundant,  distributed  over  a  wider  area, 
and  in  the  quality  of  its  wood  but  little  inferior,  it  takes  its  place  next  to  the  Longleaf  Pine. 
When  maintenance  of  forest  and  production  of  timber  under  a  rational  system  of  forestry  is 
to  become  the  rule,  this  species  above  all  others  of  southerly  distribution  will  claim  attention, 
for  it  can  be  safely  asserted  that  of  the  coniferous  trees  adapted  to  the  climatic  conditions  of 
the  Southern  Atlantic  forest,  no  other  can  be  found  of  better  promise  for  the  production  of 
valuable  timber  in  the  shortest  time. 

HISTORICAL. 

The  Shortleaf  Pine,  besides  furnishing  to  the  colonists  the  supplies  of  pine  timber  required 
for  the  construction  of  their  dwellings,  formed  in  early  colonial  times  an  article  of  export  to  the 
mother  couutry  aud  the  West  Indies.  Michaux,  the  younger,  writing  in  the  first  years  of  this 
century,  speaks  of  this  timber  tree  as  becoming  scarce  near  the  ports.  It  seems  that  the  specific 
characters  of  this  tree  were  but  imperfectly  understood  by  the  earlier  investigators  of  our  silva. 
They  were  first  accurately  defined  by  Michaux,  the  father,  who  described  this  tree  in  his  Flora 
Americana  P.orealis  II,  204  (1803),  under  the  name  of  Pinus  mitis.  A  still  more  detailed  descrip- 
tion was  soon  afterwards  given  by  Michaux,  the  son,  in  his  work  on  American  forest  trees  (Hist. 
Arb.  Amer.,  1,  52,  t.  3,  1810),  with  a  full  account  of  its  value  as  a  timber  tree,  the  qualities  and 
uses  of  its  wood,  and  all  that  was  known  in  those  days  of  its  place  in  the  forest.  Besides  the 
account  given  of  the  tree  by  the  Kev.  M.  A.  Curtis,  of  North  Carolina,  in  his  "Trees  of  North 
Carolina,"  little  has  been  added  to  our  knowledge  of  this  pine  until  the  publication  in  Professor 
Sargent's  Report  on  the  Forests  of  North  America,'  of  the  results  of  the  investigation  which  the 
writer  had  carried  on  in  the  Gulf  States,-  and  Professor  Harvey  in  Arkansas.' 

For  valuable  information  on  the  occurrence  of  this  pine  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  and  west  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  the  writer  is  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  correspondents  active  in  the  field 
of  botany.  In  regard  to  the  area  over  which  this  species  is  found  distributed  in  the  Southern 
States,  the  information  contained  in  the  physiographic  descriptions  of  the  several  counties  of  the 
cotton  States,  in  Professor  Hilgard's  report  on  cotton  production,^  were  chietly  relied  upon. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION. 

The  Shortleaf  Pine  is  widely  distributed  from  the  Atlantic  Seaboard  to  the  treeless  plains  of  the 
Indian  Territory  under  95°  west  longitude  over  23i°  from  east  to  west  and  10°  from  south  to  north, 
namely,  from  31°  north  latitude  to  Long  Island.  New  York,  or  41°  north  latitude  along  the  Atlantic 
Coast,  while  in  the  interior  it  only  reaches  to  39°  in  western  Virginia.  According  to  F.  A.  Michaux, 
the  Shortleaf  Pine  extended  originally  as  far  north  as  Albany,  N.  Y.  The  tree  is  at  present  not 
known  in  New  York  outside  of  Staten  Island,  and  its  existence  even  in  Pennsylvania  is  considered 


I  Forest  Trees  of  North  America,  Tenth  Census  U.  S.,  IX,  1884.     By  C.  S.  Sargent. 
•'0.  Mohr:  "Forest  Trees  of  the  Gulf  Region"  (Am.  Jour.  Forestry,  Vol.  1, 1883). 
'"Forest  Trees  of  Arkansas."     (Harvey:  Am.  Jour,  of  For.,  Vol.1.) 
<HiIgard:  Tenth  Census  Keport,  Vols.  \'  and  VI. 


94  TIMBKR    PINES    OF   THE   SOUTHERN  UNITED  STATES. 

at  present  doubtful.  Its  northern  limit  west  of  the  Alleghanies  can  be  described  by  a  line  drawn 
from  the  lower  part  of  Wood  County,  in  West  Virginia,  to  Menifee  County,  eastern  Kentucky, 
Beyond  the  wide  gap  covered  by  the  deciduous  forests  of  the  lower  Ohio  Valley  and  the  flood 
plain  of  the  Mississippi  the  tree  appears  on  the  southeastern  spur  of  the  Ozark  Hills  in  Cape 
Girardeau  County,  Mo ,  latitude  37°  30',  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  on  the  bluffs  in 
Tnion  and  Jackson  counties.  111.,  the  line  dropping  gradually  half  a  degree  southward  to  the 
western  limit  of  its  range.     (PI.  XIV.) 

The  Shortleaf  Pine  is  a  tree  of  the  plain  and  the  foothills,  in  the  South  rarely  ascending  to  an 
elevation  over  2,.50()  feet,  and  at  its  northern  confines  not  over  1,000  feet  (in  the  Ozark  Hills).  East 
of  the  j\Iississi])pi  Kiver  the  tree  appears  sparsely  scattered  among  the  hardwood  trees;  along  the 
border  of  the  Carolinian  and  within  the  Austm  liiiai  ian  zone  it  becomes  more  frequent,  and  often 
the  predominating  tree.  AVest  of  the  Mississippi  iiiver  the  Shortleaf  Pine  finds  its  region  of 
greatest  profusion,  forming  forests  of  vast  extent  on  the  uplands  of  the  undulating  plain  and  the 
tablelands  of  the  hill  country,  which  in  their  timber  wealth  and  economic  importance  rival  the 
great  lumbering  regions  farther  south. 

CHaRACTERISTICS   OF   DISTRIBUTION   IN   DIFFERENT   REGIONS. 

On  the  Atlantic  Coast,  from  southern  New  York  to  Virginia,  judging  from  the  statements 
of  earlier  writers,  this  tree  must  have  formed  originally  a  considerable  part  of  the  forests  of 
coniferous  evergreens  covering  the  belt  of  light  silicious  soils  of  the  Tertiary  strata.  A,  Michaux 
mentions  this  species  "as  not  found  beyond  certain  districts  in  Connecticut,  it  being  multiplied  in 
the  lower  part  of  New  Jersey,  and  still  more  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland  and  the  lower  part 
of  Virginia."  From  the  remarks  of  this  writer  on  the  extensive  use  of  the  timber  of  the  Yellow 
Pine  (Shortleaf)  it  appears  that  at  the  time  of  his  writing — the  beginning  of  this  century — it  must 
have  been  quite  abundant  in  those  parts. 

This  appears  clearly  by  his  statement  that "  in  the  Northern  and  Middle  States  (of  the  Atlan- 
tic Seaboard)  and  in  Virginia,  where,  to  a  distance  of  150  miles  from  the  sea,  all  houses  are  built 
of  wood,  the  floors,  casings  of  doors,  wainscots,  and  sashes  are  made  of  this  species,  as  being 
more  solid  and  lasting  than  any  other  indigenous  wood.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  Carolinas  the 
houses  aie  constructed  wholly  of  Yellow  Pine,  and  are  covered  with  it."  Further  on  we  learn 
that  immense  quantities  were  used  in  the  dockyards  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore, 
and  that  Yellow  Pine  lumber  formed  a  considerable  part  of  the  expoi-ts  to  Great  Britain  and 
the  West  Indies.  Since  that  time  this  tree  has  in  the  region  mentioned  not  only  long  ceased  to 
be  a  source  of  timber,  but  has  generally  become  quite  scarce.  According  to  the  information  of 
Dr.  N.  L.  Britton,  "it  grows  on  the  coast  of  New  York  naturally  only  on  Staten  Island,  and 
only  about  twenty-five  trees  are  to  be  found  in  Richmond  County.  It  is  fairly  abundant  in  the 
portion  of  New  Jersey  from  the  Raritan  River  to  Delaware  Bay,  forming  forests,  on  a  tract  not 
more  than  S  miles,  and  it  is  also  found  in  Delaware  on  the  same  formation  outcrop  of  Green  Sand." 

With  the  appearance  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  south  of  Virginia  the  Shortleaf  Pine  recedes  from 
the  coast  and  is  found  chiefly  in  the  upper  (interior)  part  of  the  Southern  coast  pine  belt,  scattered 
among  the  mixed  growth  of  coniferous  and  deciduous  trees.  Above  the  upper  limit  of  the  Longleaf 
Pine  belt  the  Shortleaf  Pine  extends,  in  the  Southern  Atlantic  States,  throughout  the  interior  to 
the  lower  ranges  of  the  mountain  region. 

West  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  in  western  Virginia  and  eastern  Tennessee,  it  occurs  only 
widely  scattered,  and  hence  is  practically  of  no  importance  to  the  lumbering  industry. 

In  North  Carolina  the  Shortleaf  Pine  is  found  from  the  coast  to  the  mountains,  though  in  the 
lower  districts  enters  more  rarely  into  the  composition  of  the  upland  forests.  According  to  Hale's 
report  on  the  woods  of  North  Carolina  the  tree  is  found  in  the  majority  of  counties  of  the  State, 
but  is  most  abundant  in  the  middle  district,  where,  with  upland  oaks  and  hickories,  it  is  the 
prevailing  tree.  It  is  found  about  Asheville,  at  an  altitude  of  2,.'500  feet.  The  Shortleaf  Pine  used 
to  form  25  per  cent  or  more  of  the  forest  growth  in  many  places,  but  such  areas  are  not  now 
frequent  anywhere.     In  the  latest  report  on  the  forests  of  North  Carolina'  it  is  stated  that  there 

'  W.  W.  Ashe:  The  Forests,  Forest  Lands,  and  Forest  Resources  of  Eastern  North  Carolina.  Bulletin  5,  Geol. 
Survey,  N.  C,  1894,  page  41. 


DISTRIBUTION    OF    SHORTLEAF    PINE. 


95 


are  possibly  300,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  Shortleaf  Pine  standing  in  tbe  counties  bordering  the 
oak  uplands  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State. 

In  South  Carolina  this  pine  is  similarly  distributed  sparingly  in  the  coast  region  and  more 
frequent  in  the  midland  country  to  the  lower  mountain  ranges. 

In  Georgia,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  coast  pine  belt,  the  Shortleaf  Pine  is  rarely  met  with.  On 
the  sandhills  in  the  center  of  the  State,  forming  the  northern  border  of  the  pine  belt,  it  occurs 
mixed  with  the  Longleaf  Pine  among  the  inferior  bard-wood  timber.  In  the  region  of  crystalline 
rocks,  which  embraces  the  more  or  less  mountainous  upper  half  of  the  State,  covering  over  19,000 
square  miles,  with  an  elevation  of  not  over  2,500  feet,  this  tree  is  most  fre(]uent,  in  many  i)arts 
predominating. 

In  the  three  States  last  named  the  Shortleaf  Pine  was  originally  most  abundant  in  the  regions 
now  most  densely  populated,  and  hence  their  supplies  of  timber  are  more  or  less  exhausted,  most 
of  the  so-called  North  Carolina  Pine  sent  to  market  being  Loblolly  Pine.  Young  forests,  however, 
of  this  tree  are  seen  everywhere  on  the  hills  and  mountain  slopes,  where  the  original  timber 
growth  has  been  lemoved,  and  on-the  worn-out  lands  abandoned  by  the  cultivator. 

In  Florida  the  Shortleaf  Pine  is  confined  to  the  uplands  along  the  northern  border  of  the 
State,  scattered  among  the  Longleaf  Pine  and  hard-wood  trees.  In  the  northwestern  part  it 
approaches  the  seashore  within  a  distance  of  from  25  to  30  miles  on  the  isolated  patches  of  red 
loam  laTids,  where,  together  with  the  Longleaf  Pine,  it  is  associated  with  the  Southern  Spruce 
Piue  {Piniis  f/lahra). 

In  Alabama  and  Mississippi  the  Sliortleaf  Pine  is  rarely  seen  in  the  lower  part  of  the  coast 
]iine  belt,  but  forms  a  more  or  less  conspicuous  part  of  the  forest  covering  of  the  uplands  in  the 
central  and  upper  sections,  and  sometimes  predominates  to  snch  an  extent  over  the  haird-woods  as 
to  impart  to  the  woodlands  the  somber  asjiect  of  a  pure  pine  forest.  In  the  region  of  crystalline 
rocks,  with  its  arid  langes  in  Alabama,  covering  an  area  a  little  over  3,000  stpiare  miles,  between 
the  Coosa  River  and  the  southern  tributaries  of  the  Tallapoosa,  tbe  tree  is  less  frequent  than  in 
the  region  of  the  same  formation  in  Georgia,  the  Longleaf  here  taking  its  place.  In  the  northern 
part  of  Alabama,  on  the  table-land  of  the  Warrior  coal  field  over  an  area  of  fully  5,000  square 
miles,  mostly  in  forest,  the  Shortleaf  I'ine  forms  a  more  prominent  feature  of  the  growth.  This  is 
the  case  particularly  in  the  eastern  part  of  this  area,  where  the  tree  occupies  mostly  the  summits 
and  steep  declines  with  a  thin,  dry  soil,  while  in  the  deejier  and  moister  soils  the  Loblolly  Pine 
takes  its  place.  In  Cullman  County,  altitude  800  feet,  where  numerous  acre  measurements  have 
been  made,  rarely  over  2,000  feet,  board  measure,  of  this  timber  liave  been  found  upon  one  acre, 
and  it  can  safely  be  said  that  in  the  localities  where  it  is  more  frequently  met  with  the  average 
stand  does  not  exceed  1,500  feet  to  the  acre  on  this  table-land.  The  supplies  of  Shortleaf  Pine 
timber  are  rapidly  diminishing  before  the  demands  of  a  rapidly  increasing  population  and  of  the 
adjacent  centei's  of  the  mining  industry,  and  their  total  exhaustion  is  sure  to  be  effected  within  a 
short  time. 

Wherever  the  original  timber  growth  has  been  removed  on  these  upiands  the  young  growth 
of  the  Shortleaf  Pine  is  rapidly  spreading  and  predominates  over  the  deciduous  trees.  The  timber 
trees  of  full  growth  average  on  these  tablelands  about  22  inches  in  diameter  breast  high  and  95 
feet  in  height,  furnishing  clear  sticks  of  from  35  to  45  feet  in  length.  Such  trees  have  been  found 
with  from  90  to  135  rings  of  annual  growth  on  the  stump. 

Four  trees  felled  in  the  vicinity  of  Cullman  showed  the  following  dimensions: 

Meusurimeiitii  of  four  trues. 


Diameter 
breast  higb. 

Length  of 

°1?ee  °^ 

Kings  on 
stump. 

Inches. 
22 
21 
20 
24 

Feet. 
42 
41 
40 
45 

Feet. 

87 
92 

ion 
111 

132 
120 

On  the  gravelly  hills  of  the  northern  extension  of  the  central  pine  belt  in  Alabama  the 
Shortleaf  Pine  becomes  frequently  the  predominating  tree  in  the  forest  of  oak  and  hickory.  In 
Lamar  County,  Ala.,  and  in  northeastern  Mississippi  it  forms  forests  which  in  the  latter  State  give 


96 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


rise  to  a  considerable  lumbering  industry.  These  forests  are,  however,  rapidly  decimated  along 
the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad,  where  the  i)ro(lucts  of  the  mill  find  ready  market 
throughout  north  Mississippi  and  at  Memphis.  Through  the  northern  half  of  Mississippi,  on  the 
divide  which  separates  the  waters  flowing  into  the  Mississippi  Kiver  from  those  of  the  Tombigbee, 
extends  a  region  of  undulating  uplands  of  oak,  hickory,  and  Shortleaf  Pine  over  an  area  little 
short  of  5,000  square  miles;  on  this  long,  narrow  belt  the  Shortleaf  Pine  can  be  said  to  form  12  to 
15  per  cent  of  the  tree  covering.  These  forests  furnish  an  ample  supply  of  pine  lumber  for  local 
demands.  It  appears,  however,  that  in  the  eastern  Gulf  States  generally  the  existing  supplies  of 
Shortleaf  Pine  are  scarcely  sufficient  to  cover  home  demand.  On  these  uplands  the  Shortleaf  Pine 
takes  rapid  possession  of  the  openings  in  the  forest  and  the  old  fields.  Here,  as  has  been 
elsewhere  observed  in  the  central  and  northern  parts  of  these  States,  this  tree  can  truly  be 
considered  the  timber  tree  of  the  future.  Since  it  is  rarely  found  in  compact  bodies,  but  associated 
with  other  trees  widely  scattered,  any  attempt  at  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of  the  timber  standing 
in  these  States  must  appear  futile.  The  amount  of  timber  cut  can  also  hardly  be  approximated, 
since  it  forms  only  a  part  of  the  cut  of  the  mills  in  these  States. 

West  of  the  Mississippi  Kiver,  north  of  the  region  of  the  Lougleaf  Pine,  the  Shortleaf  Pine 
is  found  most  abundant  and  in  fullest  perfection.  It  is  in  these  Western  forests  that  the  Short- 
leaf  Pine  finds  its  best  development,  and  forms  pure  forests,  extending  over  many  hundreds  of 
square  miles  with  but  little  interruption.  The  forests  of  Shortleaf  Pine  in  northwestern  Louisiana, 
Arkansas,  southern  Missouri,  and  northeastern  Texas  are  scarcely  surpassed  in  their  timber  wealth. 
The  Tenth  Census  estimates  the  amount  of  merchantable  timber  of  Shortleaf  Pine  standing  in 
1880  in  these  Western  forests  at  87,000,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  exclusive  of  the  forests  in 
southern  Missouri  and  the  Indian  Territory. 

In  Louisiana  the  Shortleaf  Pine  is  unequally  distributed  over  the  uplainls  north  of  the  Lougleaf 
Pine  region  between  the  Ouachita  River  and  the  eastern  boundary  of  Texas,  embracing  an  area  of 
a  little  over  8,000  s(iuare  miles.  Along  the  northern  extent  of  the  Louisiana  and  Texas  State  line 
this  pine  forms  pure  forests,  and  also  prevails  in  many  localities  ou  the  upland  along  the  border  of 
Arkansas.  The  resources  of  pine  timber  in  these  mixed  forests  of  oaks,  hickories,  and  Shortleaf 
Pine,  removed  as  they  are  from  the  highways  of  traffic,  have  been  but  slightly  drawn  upon. 

In  Arkansas,  in  the  hilly  and  mountainous  region  ou  both  sides  of  the  Arkansas  River,  over 
19,000  square  miles  in  extent,  the  Shortleaf  Pine  forms  a  large  part  of  the  tree  co^■ering  of  the 
siliceous  rocky  soil  and  frequently  extensive  forests  on  the  wide  tablelands.  Ou  the  uplands  of 
yellow  loam  south  of  the  hills  the  tree  predominates,  especially  on  the  low  ridges  of  gravel  and 
loam,  the  hard  woods  encroaching  where  the  soil  conditions  become  more  favorable. 

The  low  ridges  rising  above  the  Loblolly  Pine  forests  of  the  flood  plain  of  the  Ouachita  and  Little 
Missouri  rivers  are  covered  with  open  forests  almost  exclusively  of  Shortleaf  Pine,  interspersed 
with  a  few  White  Oaks,  Post  and  Spanish  Oaks,  rarely  above  medium  size.  In  the  vicinity  of 
Gurdon,  in  Clark  County,  upon  one  ^icre  representing  average  conditions,  22  Shortleaf  Pines 
have  been  counted  from  12  to  25  inches  in  diameter,  with  no  pines  of  smaller  growth  among  the 
scattered  undergrowth  of  dogwood,  huckleberries,  scrubby  oaks.  Black  Gum,  and  hickories.  Of 
this  number,  8  trees  measured  from  21  to  25  inches;  6  trees  from  18  to  20  inches;  G  trees  from 
15  to  17  inches;  and  2  trees  12  to  11  inches  in  diameter  breast  high,  indicating  a  stand  per  acre  of 
about  0,000  feet,  board  measure. 

Five  trees,  representing  the  average  timber  growth  of  the  forest,  selected  for  timber  tests,  were 
found  of  the  following  dimensions: 

Measurements  of  fire  tries. 


Diameter 
breast  high. 

^ffi'er 

Height  of 

EinBS  on 
stump. 

Sapwood. 

Inchex. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

Inches. 

20 

6U 

110 

120 

n 

24 

132 

19 

40 

1U9 

102 

3 

18 

3G 

95 

120 

3 

25 

45 

117 

143 

On  tiie  arid  hills  of  flinty  sandstone  the  trees  are  of  inferior  growth,  as  observed  in  Hot  Springs 
County,  in  the  vicinity  of  Malvern.     On  their  steep  slopes  the  pines  are  rarely  found  to  exceed  IS 


DISTRIBUTION    OF    SHORTLEAF    PINE. 


97 


inches  in  diameter  breast  high  and  75  feet  in  height,  clear  of  limb  for  the  length  of  about  35  feet. 
In  a  number  of  trees  from  120  to  125  rings  were  counted  on  the  stump.  The  wood  produced  on 
these  hills  is  of  a  lighter  color,  less  resinous,  and  of  a  tine  grain.  Specimens  of  finished  lumber 
from  such  timber' resemble  somewhat  that  of  the  White  Pine.  The  hard-wood  trees,  mostly 
Spanish  Oak  and  Post  Oak,  scattered  beneath  the  pines,  are  scrubby  and  of  no  value  for  their 
timber. 

Along  the  railroad  lines  the  forests  have  become  exhausted  for  a  distance  of  from  5  to  10  miles 
on  either  side,  and  the  timber  from  the  virgin  forests  is  conveyed  to  the  mills  on  steam  tramroads. 
It  appears  that  of  late  years  about  550,000,000  to  500,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  of  pine  timber 
are  sawn  annually  in  Arkansas  south  of  the  Arkansas  River.  In  this  amount  the  Loblolly  Pine 
lumber  is  included,  which  is  indiscriminately  sawn  and  put  with  the  Shortleaf  Pine  on  the  market 
as  Arkansas  Yellow  Pine.  The  bulk  of  the  product  of  the  sawmills  in  this  section  is  shipped  by 
rail  to  the  markets  of  the  Xortliwest. 

In  the  northern  part  of  Texas,  east  of  the  i)rairie  region,  from  the  Red  River  Valley  to 
the  northern  border  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  region  (under  latitude  32°  N.),  extends  an  area  of 
oak,  hickory,  and  Shortleaf  Pine  uplands,  stated  in  the  agricultural  report  as  covering  35,000 
square  miles,  in  the  southern  extent  of  this  area  the  districts  where  the  Shortleaf  Pine  prevails 
are  popularly  known  as  the  "Pineries."  Xorth  of  the  Sabine  River,  from  Longview  through  Cass 
and  Bowie  counties,  the  Shortleaf  Pine  forms  compact  forests  over  many  hundreds  of  square  miles. 
Kear  Bevins,  in  Cass  County,  where  the  pine  forests  were  more  closely  investigated,  the  moderately 
dense  timber  growth  covers  the  undulating  country  down  to  the  lowlands  of  the  Red  River  in 
Louisiana.  The  sandy  gray  loam  forming  the  rather  compact  soil  of  the  surface  is  underlaid 
by  laminated  siifl'  clayey  marls,  which  at  the  depth  of  about  4  feet  become  quite  impervious 
to  water-.  Blackjack,  Spanish  Oak,  and  Post  Oak  of  stunted  growth  are  scattered  beneath  the 
pine.  The  pine  appears  to  be  of  slower  growth;  trees  of  full  size — that  is,  from  20  to  2-1  inches 
in  diameter — were  found  to  have  reached  an  age  of  from  195  to  210  years.  The  upi)er  part  of 
the  timber  of  such  old  trees  is  frequently  affected  by  rot,  a  defect  undoubtedly  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  cold,  impervious  subsoil. 

From  0,000  to  7,000  feet  of  merchantable  timber  are  claimed  as  an  average  stand  for  these 
timber  lands.  Every  tree  above  10  inches  in  diameter  at  breast  height  is  cut  for  the  mills.  After 
the  removal  of  the  pine  the  hard  woods  gain  rapidly  in  the  rate  of  their  growth,  soon  shading  the 
ground  completely.  Young  pines  are  rarely  seen  in  the  natural  openings,  the  seedlings  being  too 
frequently  destroyed  by  tire.  In  the  clearings,  where  the  original  tree  growth  has  been  completely 
removed  and  the  pine  takes  quick  possession  of  the  ground,  the  second  growth,  if  not  killed 
outright  by  the  tires  which  again  and  again  devour  the  surrounding  tall  weeds  and  broom  grasses, 
becomes  too  severely  injured  to  be  of  any  promise. 

Four  trees,  selected  as  representing  fairly  the  average  merchantable  timber  of  the  Shortleaf 
Pine  forests  of  northeastern  Texas,  showed  the  following  record: 


Metis  II 


uffv, 


The  forests  of  Shortleaf  Pine  near  Longview,  which  was  in  1880  the  site  of  a  most  active  lumber 
industry,  have  been  nearly  exhausted,  and  with  diminished  supplies  along  the  New  Orleans  and 
Pacific  Railway  the  business  has  greatly  declined.  The  annual  output  of  the  30  mills  situated 
along  this  road,  and  its  branch  from  Carthage  to  Panola  does  not  at  present  in  the  aggregate 
exceed  70,000,000  feet,  board  measure.  From  the  information  obtained  in  1892  it  appears  that  in 
1891-92,  200,000,000  feet,  board  measure,  were  handled  in  Tesarkana,  the  product  of  the  mills  at 
that  i)lace  and  immediate  vicinity,  and  also  that  the  shipments  of  the  mills  south  of  the  Red 
River  in  the  same  year  reached  about  105,000,000  feet,  board  measure. 


98 


TIMBER    PINES    OF  THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED   STATES. 


In  Missouri  the  rugged  hills  and  table-lands  of  the  southern  slope  of  tlie  Ozark  Monntaiiis, 
rising  to  an  elevation  of  from  800  to  1,000  feet,  are  covered  with  forests  of  Shortleaf  Pine,  which, 
roughly  estimated,  extend  over  little  more  than  3,000,000  acres.  In  the  counties  bordering  on  the 
Arkansas  State  line  (Terry,  Oxark,  and  Douglas  counties)  the  pine  is  said  to  yield  on  the  average 
not  over  2,000  feet  of  timber  to  the  :u;re.  Tiie  forests  in  the  basin  of  the  Current  and  Black  rivers 
are  heavily  timbered,  as  observed  at  Grandin.  The  density  of  the  timber  growth  varies,  however, 
on  these  broken  lauds  with  the  soil  conditions,  a  fact  demonstrated  by  actual  measurements  on 
several  plats,  upon  which  the  amount  per  acre  varied  from  3,000  to  15,000  feet  of  timber.  After 
years  of  experieuce,  the  average  yield  of  the  timber  lands  of  the  Grandin  Lumber  and  Mining 
Company  is  estimated  at  6,000  feet  of  merchantable  timber  to  the  acre,  including  trees  of  10  inches 
in  diameter. 

The  trees  felled  to  serve  as  material  for  the  United  States  timber  tests,  and  fairly  representing 
the  average  timber  growtli,  showed  the  following  record : 

Measurements  of  Jive  trees. 


Diameter 

Length  of 

Height  of 

Kings  on 

breasthhgh. 

tree. 

stump. « 

Indies. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

31 

40 

1U3 

99 

150 

140 

22 

88 

180 

24 

50 

109 

218 

The  timber  from  these  most  northern  of  the  forests  of  Shortleaf  Pine  is  remarkably  free  from 
resin,  of  a  fine,  close  grain,  almost  white,  and  claimed  to  be  lighter  and  softer  than  the  timber  grown 
farther  south,  and  like  the  timber  occasionally  found  on  the  dry,  rocky  hills  in  Hot  Spring  County, 
Ark.,  resemliling  the  wood  of  the  White  Pine.  In  these  forests  the  fine  tall  pines  tower  high  above 
tlie  stunted  Scarlet,  Black,  and  White  Oaks  and  hickories,  but  the  growth  of  these  hard  woods 
almost  completely  overpowers  the  second  growth  of  pine. 

In  close  connection  with  the  great  markets  of  the  North,  and  nearest  to  the  timberless  region 
of  the  Nortiiwest,  the  manufacture  of  lumber  in  this  region  is  fully  developed.  According  to 
information  received  at  Grandin,  the  output  of  the  mills  located  along  the  Current  Eiver  Valley 
Eailroad,  the  Iron  Mountain  Railway,  the  Kansas  City,  Fort  Scott  and  Memphis  l;ailroa<l,  and  the 
Cape  Girardeau  and  Southwestern  road  amounted  for  the  year  1891-92  to  fully  300,000,000  feet, 
board  measure.  At  such  rates  the  depletion  of  the  timber  wealth  of  this  forest  is  to  be  expected 
before  another  generation  has  passed  away. 

Under  the  existing  method  of  exploitation,  which  involves  the  almost  total  destruction  of  the 
smaller  timber  growth,  nothing  remains  to  be  depended  upon  for  the  future.  Considering  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  their  natural  renewal,  there  is  no  hope  left  for  their  restoration  on  these 
knolls.  The  dense  undergrowth  and  brush  of  deciduous  trees  and  shrubs  which  completely  shade 
the  soil,  the  rocky  surface  being  hidden  by  an  abundant  and  infiammable  leaf  covering,  deprives 
the  i)ine  of  every  possibility  of  reproduction  by  natural  seeding,  even  if  the  seedlings  could  escape 
destruction  by  fire. 

According  to  the  census  of  1880,'  extensive  bodies  of  Shortleaf  Pine  timber  exisi  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  Indian  Territory.  It  occurs  mixed  among  the  hard  woods  on  the  higher  ridges 
of  the  timber  belt  in  the  Choctaw  Nation,  GO  miles  in  length,  and  considerable  bodies  of  Shortleaf 
Pine  timber  in  belts  of  from  10  to  30  miles  in  length  and  2  to  4  miles  wide  are  found  on  the  tributaries 
of  Grand  Kivei'  in  the  Cherokee  Nation,  and  in  a  large  body  of  timber  extending  for  25  miles  west 
of  Beam  this  tree  appears  to  reach  it  western  limit. 

The  great  importance  of  the  forests  of  Shortleaf  Pine  to  the  industrial  and  commercial  interests 
of  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and  to  the  development  of  the  adjacent  timberless 
States  and  Territories,  is  forcibly  exhibited  by  the  enormous  production  of  lumber  for  the  past  ten 
years.    During  the  year  1891-92  at  a  low  estimate  not  less  than  1,270,000,000  feet,  board  measure, 


<  Report  of  Teiitli 


lOl. 


NOMENCLATURE  OF  SHORTLEAF  PINE.  99 

have  been  shipped  from  points  in  Texas,  Arkansas,  and  southern  Missouri  to  Northern  markets. 
This  amount  may  be  swelled  by  the  production  east  of  the  Mississippi  to  round  numbers  of 
1,500,000,000  feet,  board  measure. 

As  stated  before,  an  estimate  of  the  timber  of  this  species  standing  is  impossible  on  account 
of  its  scattered  distribution  and  prevalent  occurrence  in  mixed  growths.  But  considering  the 
extent  of  the  areas  within  which  it  occurs  and  the  average  cut  on  the  same,  or  comparing  with  the 
amounts  of  Longleaf  Pine,  which,  on  account  of  the  compact  bodies  in  which  it  occurs,  can  be  more 
readily  approximated,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  very  much  less  than  100,000, 000,000  feet  remain 
available,  while  the  cut  can  be  roughly  estimated  at  1,500,000,000  feet,  board  measure. 


Among  the  coniferous  trees  of  eastern  Noi-th  America  the  Shortleaf  Pine  stands  next  to 
the  Longleaf  Pine  in  importance  to  the  lumber  industry  and  in  the  value  of  its  timber.  Freer 
from  resiuous  matter,  softer,  more  easily  worked,  not  less  susceptible  of  a  good  finish,  the 
lumber  of  the  Shortleaf  Pine  is  often  preferred  by  the  cabinetmaker  and  the  house  carpenter  to 
that  of  the  Longleaf  Pine.  Less  tenacious,  and  of  less  power  of  resistance  under  strain,  it  is 
principally  used  for  the  lighter  framework  in  buildings,  for  weatherboardiug,  tlooriiig,  ceiling, 
wainscoting^  cases  for  windows  and  doors,  for  frames  and  sashes  of  all  kinds,  and  for  shingles. 
Most  of  the  dwellings  located  within  the  districts  where  this  tree  prevails  are  built  almost  entirely 
of  Shortleaf  Pine  lumber,  which  bears  ample  testimony  to  its  wide  usefulness.  It  is  also 
extensively  employed  in  car  building,  for  cross-ties,  and  in  the  manufacture  of  furniture. 

NOMENCLATURE   AND   CLASSIFICATION. 

This  species,  like  all  of  the  same  genus  of  a  decidedly  Southern  distribution  in  the  Atlantic 
forest,  belongs  to  the  section  Pinaster  as  defined  by  Engelmann,  with  cones  of  tough,  woody  scales, 
their  exposed  ends  thickened  by  an  umbonate  swelling  (apophysis),  which  is  armed  with  a  weaker 
or  stronger  deciduous  or  persistent  prickle  or  mucro.  It  was  first  described  by  Miller  in  the  year 
1 768  as  Pinus  echinata,^  and  under  that  name  recognized  by  the  earliest  writers  on  North  American 
forest  trees ;^  it  was  subsequently  named  by  an  obscure  writer  Piniin  virginiana  var.  echinata, 
Du  Eoi.^  Michaux  described  this  tree  in  his  North  American  Flora  ^  under  the  name  of  Pinus 
mitis,  which  received  general  recognition  and  by  which  it  is  known  to  botanists  to  the  present 
day.  Pinus  vurinbilis,  the  name  under  which  it  was  described  at  about  the  same  time  by  Lam- 
bert,^ was  adopted  by  Wildenow,  and  following  that  author  by  Pursh,  Nuttall,  Elliott,  and  a  few 
others  of  the  writers  on  the  botany  of  this  country.  In  following  stiictly  the  rule  of  priority,  at 
present  most  strongly  advocated  as  the  only  measure  to  avoid  further  the  confusion  arising  from 
an  endless  number  of  synonyms,  Finns  mitis,  the  name  under  which  it  is  generally  known,  will 
have  to  be  abandoned,  and  the  more  obscure  one,  Pinus  echinata,  under  which  this  species  was 
first  published,  restored. 

Great  confusion  is  caused  by  the  various  appellations  this  tree  has  received  in  the  English  ver- 
nacular, being  indiscriminately  called  Shortleaf  Pine,  Yellow  Pine,  and  Spruce  Pine,  although  most 
widely  known  under  the  first  of  these  names,  and  in  the  markets  it  is  now  somewhat  doubtfully 
establisbed  under  the  name  of  Yellow  Pine.  In  the  States  of  the  lower  South  it  is  frequently 
confounded  with  the  Loblolly  Pine,  as  the  timber  of  the  two  is  often,  if  not  mostly,  mixed.  M.  A. 
Curtis,  in  his  "Trees  of  North  Carolina,''  selected  for  this  tree  the  name  of  Yellow  Pine, strongly 
recommending  its  general  adoption  in  order  to  introduce  greater  uniformity  in  the  de.signations  of 
our  forest  trees.  Unfortunately  the  same  name  is  in  many  of  the  Southern  lumbering  districts 
bestowed  upon  the  Longleaf  Pine,  jjarticularly  when  the  timber  is  spoken  of.  It  is  often  quite 
impossible  to  determine  to  which  of  the  two  species  the  timber  is  to  be  referred  when  under  that 
name  it  is  quoted  in  the  reports  of  the  lumber  markets. 


'Miller,  Ganl.  Dictionary,  8th  cd.,  Ltuliou,  1768. 

'Marshall,  Arljustrum  Auiericanuni:  Philadelphia,  1785. 

'Du  Roi,  Harb.  Bauoi/..  Nordam.     1771-72. 

'A.  Michaux,  Flora  Boreali-Americana      Paris,  1803. 

■Lambert,  Descriptiou  of  the  Genus  Pinus:  (ed.)  1803  and  (ed.)  1824. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  XV. 

[Figures  uatural  size,  exceiJt  wliere  otherwise  noted.] 

Fig.  o,  branch  from  a  lower  limb  bearing  male  iniioresceuce  with  flowers  in  a  dense  cluster  (first  week  of  April, 
southern  Alabama) ;  /),  c,  branch  with  two  subterminal  aments  of  female  flowers  below  which  are  two  immature  cones 
of  one  season's  growth;  rf,  detached  male  llowcr  xlmwiii;;  li;is:il  iiivolncral  scales,  magnified  3  diameters;  e,  germi- 
nating seed  (February);  /,  same  seedlinn"  one  mouth  latri-  i  Maiilii  with  7  cotyledons,  in  the  midst  of  which  the 
terminal  hud  shows  the  primary  leaves  apiicaring;  ;/,  secilliiiK  alxuit  the  close  of  the  first  season  with  terminal 
cluster  of  true  (secondary)  leaves,  below  which  arc  seen  the  withered  ])rimary  leaves;  li,  i,  transverse  section  through 
base  of  two  and  three  leafed  leaf  bundle,  magnified  50  diameters,  showing  outer  small  hypodermal  cells,  the  stomata 
appearing  as  marginal  white  spots;  next  a  broad  band  of  large  in-walled  parenchymatous  cells  bearing  chlorophyll, 
within  which,  at  the  angles  of  the  leaf,  resin  ducts  appear  as  large  openings;  the  dark  arpas  in  the  center  are  fibro- 
vascular  bundles  surrounded  by  a  single  row  of  thin-walled  cells  (bundle  sheath). 
100 


Division  of  Forestry, 


OV<tmtMB,»»    St 


PiNus  echinata:  Seedling,  Male  and  Female  Flower,  and  Leaf  Sections, 


BOTANICAL,    DESCRIPTION    OF    SHORTLEAF    PINE.  101 

Under  the  name  of  Spruce  Pine,  in  the  extreme  Southern  districts,  it  is  invariably  confounded 
■with  the  tnie  Southern  Spruce  Pine  {Pimis  (jJnhra),  the  species  which  in  several  points  it  closely 
resembles  aud  to  which  it  is  most  closely  related. 

BOTANICAL   DESCRIPTION. 

Leaves  mostly  2  (sometimes  3)  in  a  short  sheath,  3  to  5  inches  long;  cones  IJ  to  2  inches  long, 
oval  or  somewhat  cobical;  scales  with  a  short,  tender,  straight,  and  finally  incurved  prickle,  light 
brown.  Seeds  rather  small,  two-fifths  of  an  inch  long,  by  one-tenth  to  one-eighth  of  an  inch  wide, 
with  dark,  scattered  or  confluent  specks;  the  wings  are  reddish  brown  and  about  one-half  of  an  inch 
long.  The  young  shoots  are  of  a  glaucous  violet  color.  The  bark  of  mature  trees  is  rather  thick 
and  broken  up  in  squarish  plates.  The  different  general  appearance  of  the  tree  will  almost  always 
serve  to  quickly  distinguish  it  from  the  closely  related  Scrub  Pine  {Pinus  i-lr(/iiii(tnii),  which  is 
distinguished  by  its  shorter  and  more  rigid  leaves.  Any  doubt  can  be  removed  by  trying  the 
twigs;  those  of  the  Scrub  Pine  are  tough  while  those  of  the  Shortleaf  Pine  snap  off  readily.  The 
bark  is  of  a  light  reddish  brown  color,  and  on  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk  in  full-grown  trees 
three-fourths  to  fully  one  inch  thick  crossed  by  deep  furrows,  aud  flaky. 

The  limbs  are  arranged  in  more  or  less  regular  whorls,  under  full  exposure,  forming  a  crown 
with  the  outline  of  a  truncated  pyramid,  by  which  the  tree  can  be  recognized  from  a  distance  and 
distinguished  from  kindred  species  with  which  it  happens  to  be  associated.  The  oldest  and  stout- 
est limbs  are  rarely  over  20  to  25  feet  in  length,  and  are  somewhat  drooping. 

It  is  indeed  a  beautiful  tree,  with  its  stately,  geutly  tapering  trunk  and  its  finely  shaped  full 
crown  clothed  in  an  abundance  of  foliage,  bearing  the  stamp  of  thrifty  and  vigorous  growth. 

Leaves. — The  secondary  or  foliage  leaves  are  found  mostly  2  in  a  sheath,  and  on  shoots  of  vig- 
orous growth  often  3  are  found  in  a  bundle;  occasionally  whole  trees  are  seen  with  3  leaves  in  a 
sheath  and  in  some  rare  instances  on  young  trees  even  4  have  been  counted  (PI.  XVI,  ij,  h).  The 
leaves  vary  from  3  to  -1  inches  and  a  little  over  in  length ;  they  are  slender,  about  one-eighteenth 
of  an  inch  wide,  strongly  concave,  slightly  twisted,  faintly  serrulate,  and  abruptly  sharp  pointed, 
while  young  of  a  yellowish  and  later  on  of  a  deeper  gieen  color.  In  the  cross  section  (PI.  XV,  /(,  i) 
they  present  a  semicircular  outline;  examined  under  the  microscope  they  show  on  both  sides  about 
ten  rows  of  minute  stomata  (breathing  pores),  the  small  epidermal  cells  underlaid  by  a  single  layer 
of  rather  thin- walled  hypodermal  or  strengthening  cells;  in  the  specimens  examined  from  3  to  4 
peripheral  resin  ducts  were  found,  the  bundle  sheath  consisting  of  a  single  row  of  cells.  The  sheath 
invests  the  leaves  closely  aud  rarely  exceeds  at  any  stages  of  growth  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch ; 
the  leaves  are  shed  during  the  latter  part  of  their  second  year. 

The  bract  like  scales  (PI.  XV,  b,  c),  modified  primary  leaves,  which  densely  cover  the  young 
shoots  and  in  the  axils  of  which  the  foliage  leaves  are  produced,  are  while  young  of  a  grayish  color, 
closely  appressed,  lanceolate,  acuminate,  aud  fringed;  with  the  subsequent  development  of  the 
foliage  leaves  and  the  increase  of  the  shoot  in  length,  their  tips  become  dried  and  are  cast  off. 
As  the  tender  shoots  become  hardened  they  assume  a  glaucous  purplish  color. 

Flowers. — The  flower  buds  make  their  appearance  during  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  and 
begin,  in  stations  of  southern  latitudes,  to  opeu  near  the  eiul  of  March  (Baldwin  County,  Ala., 
March  26),  and  farther  north  from  three  to  four  weeks  later  (Cullmau,  Ala.,  April  2S).  The  stami- 
nate  flowers  are  closely  sessile,  to  the  number  of  fifteen  to  tweuty  surrounding  the  terminal  bud 
(PI.  XV,  a),  which  at  the  time  has  scarcely  grown  to  the  length  of  an  eighth  of  an  inch.  The 
staminal  column,  of  a  pale  purplish  color,  does  not  exceed  three-fourths  of  au  inch  in  length, 
is  less  than  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  is  surrounded  by  eight  or  nine  decussate 
scales,  those  of  the  first  pair  being  strongly  keeled  and  scarcely  half  the  size  of  the  others  (PI. 
XV,  d).  The  crest  of  the  anthers  is  nearly  circular  and  slightly  denticulate.  The  male  flowers 
are  shed  immediately  after  the  discharge  of  the  pollen.  The  female  flowers  are  united  in  an 
oblong,  obtuse,  short-stalked  catkin  of  a  delicate  rose-pink  color,  about  one-fourth  of  an  inch  in 
length.  They  are  rarely  single,  but  mostly  from  two  to  four,  produced  closely  below  the  apex  of 
the  youngest  shoot  (PI.  XV,  b).  The  stipe  of  the  catkin,  not  over  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in 
length,  is  invested  by  twenty  to  twenty-four  hyaline  lanceolate,  pointed,  involucral  scales,  those 
immediately  surrounding  the  flowers  being  widely  spreading.  The  bracts  subtending  the  carpellary 
scales  cover  the  latter  to  the  base  of  their  long,  subulate,  erect  tips. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  XVI. 

Fig.  a,  branch  witli  mature  closed  cones  (October  of  second  season);  6,  mature  cone;  c,  cone  scale,  outer  or 
dorsal  view  showing  apophysis;  d,  ventral  view  of  the  same  with  seed  in  place;  e,  seed  detached  from  wing;  /,  seed 
with  wing  intact;  y,  leaf  forms,  two  and  three  leafed  bundles. 


,  No.  13,  Division  of   Foft-slry. 


9Mb-i^'tk'  diZ 


PiNUS   ECHINATA:    CONE,   SEED,   AND   LEAVES. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    WOOD    OP    SKORTLEAF    PINE.  103 

After  fertilization  has  taken  place  the  shoots  bearing  the  fertile  flowers  increase  rapidly  in 
length.  Fertile  catkins  are  frequently  found  on  the  older  branches,  produced  on  branchlets  from 
adventitious  buds.  The  tree  begins  to  produce  flowers  when  from  ten  to  twelve  years  old,  according 
to  exposure;  male  flowers  have  been  observed  one  or  two  seasons  earlier. 

Cones. — Every  season  cones  are  produced  in  great  abundance.  The  conelets  of  the  first  year, 
borne  on  a  short,  horizontal  stalk,  are  oval  in  shape,  scarcely  ouehalf  an  inch  in  length,  the 
squarrose  tips  of  the  scales  giving  them  the  echinate  appearance  from  which  the  botanical  name 
first  given  to  this  species  was  undoubtedly  derived  (PI.  XV,  <). 

Fully  matured  by  the  end  of  the  second  year,  the  cones  are  nearly  sessile,  oval,  of  dull  or 
leather  brown  color,  li  to  rarely  2  inches  long,  and  when  open,  nearly  as  wide;  they  are  frequently 
smooth  (I'l.  XVI,  ,/,  I).  The  scales  are  hard,  with  a  slightly  swelled  apophysis,  devoid  of  or  armed 
with  the  weak,  more  or  less  deciduous  prickle  (PI.  XVI,  c,  d).  The  cones  open  early  in  the  fall,  and 
remain,  after  the  discharge  of  their  seeds,  for  several  years  on  the  branches.  In  consequence, 
the  older  trees  are  covered  with  them  through  all  seasons. 

Seed. — The  Shortleaf  Pine  i)rodaces  seeds  in  greatest  abundance;  its  crops  seem  never  to  fail. 
The  seeds  are  small,  triangular,  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  long  by  one  eighth  of  an  inch  wide,  the 
hard,  roughish  testa  marked  with  three  indistinct  ridges  and  more  or  less  with  confluent  specks; 
the  wing  is  of  a  light,  reddish  brown,  half  an  inch  in  length  and  deciduous  during  germination 
(PI.  XV, ,,/').  The  seeds  retain  their  vitality  for  several  years;  fresh,  they  will  germinate  in  from 
ten  to  fifteen  days.  The  number  of  seeds  to  the  ounce  is  about  5,000;  wafted  by  the  wind  over 
wide  distances  and  germinating  early  during  the  first  days  of  spring,  their  oti'spring  are  found  to 
take  possession  of  every  opening  in  the  Ibrest  and  of  the  old  fields  in  localities  favorable  to  their 
growth. 

THE    WOOD. 

The  wood  of  Shortleaf  Pine  resembles  that  of  the  Loblolly  in  almost  every  resi)ect.  The 
sapwood  is  clearly  defined,  being  quite  broad,  and  even  in  very  old  trees  forms  fully  one-half  of  the 
total  volume  of  the  trunk.  In  thirteen  trees  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old,  the 
average  width  of  sapwood  was  found  to  be  about  -t  inches,  while  even  in  trees  over  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  old  its  average  width  was  3  inches.  In  the  former  case,  the  sapwood  formed  Co  to 
70  per  cent  of  the  volume  of  the  logs;  in  the  latter,  50  to  55  per  cent,  while  in  a  set  of  trees  fifty 
to  one  hundred  years  old  it  formed  fully  80  per  cent  of  all  the  wood.  The  change  from  sapwood  to 
hardwood  proceeds  much  as  in  Loblolly  Pine.  It  begins  when  the  tree  (or  any  disk)  is  about 
twenty-five  to  thirty  years  old,  and  is  retarded  more  and  more  with  age,  so  that  in  old  trees  as 
many  as  eighty  or  even  one  hundred  rings  are  counted  in  the  sapwood,  while  in  young  and  thrifty 
trees  not  more  than  thirty  to  forty  may  occur. 

In  keeiiiug  with  the  large  amount  of  sapwood,  the  weight  of  green  Shortleaf  Pine  is  rath(U- 
great,  varying,  for  entire  logs,  from  45  to  55  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  commonly  approa<;hing  GO  pounds 
in  the  largely  water- filled  outer  portions  of  the  sapwood. 

When  kiln  dried,  tiie  wood  of  trees  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old  weighs 
on  the  average  about  32  pounds  per  cubic  foot.  As  in  other  pines,  the  butt  is  15  to  20  per  cent 
heavier  than  the  top,  and  the  wood  of  the  inner  forty  to  fifty  rings  excels  in  weight  and  strength 
the  wood  of  the  outer  parts  of  old  logs.  As  was  stated  for  Loblolly,  the  sapwood  may  be  light, 
heavy,  weak,  or  strong,  according  to  the  age  of  the  tree  from  which  it  is  obtained.  As  might  be 
expected  from  the  great  range  of  distribution  of  this  tree,  its  wood,  like  that  of  Loblolly,  varies 
within  very  wide  limits.  Specimens  from  Missouri  (near  its  northern  limits)  are  generally  lighter 
and  less  resinous  than  those  from  farther  south,  and  frequently  resemble  tlie  wood  of  the  Norway 
Pine,  while  many  select  specimens  from  the  Gulf  and  South  Atlantic  States  rival  in  weight  and 
strength  the  best  grades  of  Longleaf  Pine.  In  its  strength,  as  in  its  weight,  the  Shortleaf  follows 
Loblolly  Pine. 

The  average  of  a  large  series  of  tests  furnishes  the  following  average  values  for  dry  pieces  of 
this  species : 

Lbs.  per  S(|.  iuch. 

Modulus  of  elasticity 1,600,000 

Transverse  strength <i,  230 

Compressiou  eudwise 5,900 

Sbeariug  along  the  fiber 688 


104  TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

As  the  average  weight  of  this  series  was  38  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  or  about  16  per  cent  lieavier 
than  the  average  weight  involving  all  parts  of  all  the  trees,  these  figures  should  be  reduced  by 
that  per  cent  to  represent  the  true  average  for  the  wood  of  the  species. 

In  drying,  100  pounds  of  wood  lose  from  40  to  oO  pounds  of  water,  the  bulk  of  which  conies 
from  the  sapwood,  which  (contains  (JO  per  cent  and  more,  while  the  heartwood,  like  that  of  most 
pines,  contains  about  25  per  cent. 

The  shrinkage  in  volume  consecjuent  on  drying  amounts  to  about  11  per  cent.  It  is  about  13 
per  cent  in  the  wood  of  the  butt  and  about  10  per  cent  in  that  of  the  u])per  logs,  varying  in  this 
respect  directly  as  the  weight  of  the  dry  wood.  Of  the  11  per  cent,  about  8  per  cent  fall  to  the 
tangent  or  occur  along  the  rings  and  3  to  5  per  cent  along  the  radius. 

The  structure  of  the  wood  of  Shortleaf  Pine  is  essentially  the  same  as  that  of  Loblolly.  Sum- 
merwood  and  springwood  are  sharply  defined.  The  proportion  of  the  former  to  the  wood  on  the 
whole  varies,  as  in  JiobloUy,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  weight  of  the  wood,  being  greater  in  the 
butt  than  top,  greater  in  the  wood  of  the  inner  rings  than  in  the  wood  farther  out,  and  greatly 
reduced  in  all  cases  where  tiie  growth  of  the  tree  is  suddenly  retarded  by  unfavorable  seasons, 
but  is  otherwise  quite  independent  of  the  width  of  the  rings. 

For  details  of  structure,  consult  the  comparative  study  of  Mr.  Eoth,  appended  to  these 
monographs. 

PROGRESS    OF    DEVELOPMENT. 

The  seeds  begin  to  swell  and  to  germinate  in  the  early  days  of  spring.  In  Mobile  County,  on 
the  end  of  the  first  week  of  March,  the  plantlets  had  their  cotyledons  fully  unfolded,  which  were 
found  to  vary  from  six  to  seven  in  number,  with  the  lower  (hypocotyledonary)  part  of  the  axis  from 
li  to  2  inche.s  long,  the  rootlets  being  somewhat  less  in  length  (PI.  XV,  e, ;/).  The  development 
of  the  upper  part  of  the  axis  (caulicle)  from  the  terminal  budlet  and  of  the  primary  acerose  leaves 
proceeds  now  i-apidly.  The.se  primary  leaves  succeeding  the  cotyledons  are  stiff  and  spreading, 
about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  long  and  covering  the  stem  den.sely  (PI.  XV^,  (/),  remain  during  the 
first  season,  withering  from  below  during  the  warmer  part  of  the  season.  By  the  close  of  the  first 
season  the  caulicle  or  first  shoot  has  attained  a  length  of  from  3  to  4  inches.  On  the  shoot  of 
the  second  season  (rarely  before)  the  secondary  leaves,  which  constitute  the  foliage,  make  their 
appearance  from  the  undeveloped  branchlets  in  the  axis  of  the  primary  leaves  (PI.  XV,  g).  At 
the  end  of  the  second  year  the  plants  are  7  to  S  inches  high,  with  a  taproot  2  to  3  inches  long. 
During  this  season  adventitious  buds  appear  at  the  collar  of  the  stem,  which  bring  forth  vigorous 
sprouts,  particularly  if  the  stem  has  sustained  the  slightest  injury.  These  shoots  are  covered 
with  primary  leaves,  which  are  retained  for  one  season.  They  are  apt  to  form  strong  branches 
before  the  tree  has  reached  its  fourth  or  fifth  year;  such  branches,which  are  produced  profusely 
from  the  stumps  of  larger  trees,  scarcely  survive  another  season.  It  is  rarely  that  branches 
are  produced  in  the  second  year,  the  first  branches  appearing  generally  in  the  thii'd  season  in 
whorls  of  three  to  four.  In  the  third  year  foliage  leaves  alone  are  produced  in  the  axils  of  scales 
with  their  bases  close  to  the  stem.  At  the  close  of  the  third  year  the  plants  are  from  12  to  18 
inches  high.  Xow  the  development  of  the  root  system  advances  rapidly,  the  taproot  being  by 
this  time  about  8  or  10  inches  long,  with  strong  lateral  roots  often  double  that  length.  Both 
taproot  and  lateral  roots  are  finally  vigorously  developed,  penetrating  deep  into  the  ground, 
so  that  trees  of  this  species  are  rarely  blown  down  by  winds.  At  the  end  of  the  fourth  year 
the  plants  are  from  2  to  3  feet  high,  with  the  stem  at  best  from  five-eighths  to  seven-eighths  of 
an  inch  thick. 

The  branches  of  the  whorls  begin  now  in  their  turn  to  develop  branchlets  in  whorls  of  secondary 
order.  The  development  of  the  primary  axis  and  its  branch  system  proceeds  henceforth  in  the 
regular  acropetal  order.  As  in  all  pines,  the  shoot  of  the  main  axis  takes  the  lead  in  rapidity  and 
vigor  of  growth.  By  a  number  of  measurements  made  at  Cullman,  north  Alabama,  of  trees  from 
the  openings  in  the  forest,  as  well  as  from  clearings,  it  was  found  that  by  the  end  of  the  fifth  year 
they  had  attained  a  height  varying  between  3  and  5  feet,  rarely  over,  the  stem  being  from  five  eighths 
to  seven  eighths  of  an  inch  in  thickness;  by  the  eiid  of  the  sixth  year,  from  0  to  9  feet  high  and 
from  one-half  to  2  inches  in  d'ameter;  and  at  the  tenth  year,  from  10  to  10  feet  high  and  from  2 


EARLY    GROWTH    OF    SHOKTLEAF    PINE. 


105 


to  2.^  inches  in  diameter.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  to  twenty  years,  with  a  total  height  of  from  20  to  30 
feet  ami  a  diameter  breast  high  of  4  to  5  inches,  the  crown  of  the  tree  occnpies  from  one-half  to 
five-eighths  of  its  height.  Henceforth  throughout  the  period  of  quickest  growth  its  rate  is  greatly 
influenced  by  conditions  of  light  and  soil.  At  the  age  of  fifty  years  the  height  of  the  trees  varies 
between  40  and  60  feet  and  the  diameter  breast  high  between  10  and  14  inches.  About  this  age 
or  perhaps  a  short  time  before,  the  height  growth  begins  to  decline  and  the  branches  become 
somewhat  reclining  below  and  sjireadiug  toward  the  top,  and  consequently  the  head  of  the  tree 
becomes  more  rounded  in  outline.  Between  the  ages  of  sixty  and  seventy  years  the  trees  are  from 
50  to  70  feet  high  and  from  12  to  15  inches  in  diameter,  with  the  trunk  clear  of  limbs  for  30  to 
rarely  over  40  feet.  From  this  period  on  the  growth  proceeds  at  a  slower  rate.  On  reaching  its 
one  hundredth  year  the  tree  has  attained  a  height  between  90  and  95  feet  and  a  diameter  of 
from  10  to  19  inches  at  most.  Having  now  passed  its  period  of  vigorous  life,  the  growth  is 
henceforth  insignificant.  Between  the  ages  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  and  one  hundred  and 
thirty  years  trees  were  found  90  to  110  feet  high  and  from  IS  to  24  inches  in  diameter.  The  oldest 
tree  encountered  in  the  measurements,  with  two  hundred  and  eight  rings  of  annual  growth  in 
the  stump,  scarcely  exceeded  109  feet  in  height  and  measured  24  inches  in  diameter.  The  largest 
tree  felled  was  117  feet  high  and  25  inches  in  diameter  with  one  hundred  and  forty-three  rings  in 
the  stump.     Occasionally  trees  are  found  of  a  diameter  exceeding  3  feet,  but  such  are  exceptional. 

Table  I. — Growth  of  Shortleaf  Pine  (Pinus  echinata),  from  eight  to  fifty  years. 


Number  of 

tree. 

Rings 
stump. 

Diame- 

teea*t 
high. 

Height 

Total 
height. 

Locality. 

Remarks. 

8 
8 
9 
10 

12 
11 

12 
12 
13 
13 
13 

15 
15 
18 
19 
19 
20 
19 
22 
27 
24 

41 

I7iches. 
2 
2 

^1 

3 
2 
2 

P 

4 
4 
6 

? 
? 

11 

Feet. 
6 

........ 

6 

12 
10 
15 

To 

14 

ll* 

M* 
15 
51 

Feet. 
11 
11 
11 
17 
11 

11 
U 
20 
16 

\l 
17 
20 

24 
20 
36 
37 
20 
H- 

70 

Cullman,  Ala 

do 

Clearing  made  in  1879  for  pasture  in  dense  pine  thicket. 

So: 

Rocky  hillside,  border  of  thicket. 

Rocky  hillside  in  dense  thicket  of  vigorous  growth;  youngcs 

S'""^'       ■-'''"n':t. 

K.i.                                               iMisid;  in  forest. 

"-r,„. ^  '^- 

In  midst  of  thicket.-  old  clearing. 

Old  pasture,  cleared  in  1879;  most  vigorous  growth;  young 

Rocky  hills;  open  forest. 

Open  forest. 

Exposure  free;  open  grove  of  second  growth. 

Oppressed  in  forest  opening  by  oak  scrub. 

Rocky;  open  woods. 

Open  grove;  closely  oppressed. 

Open  grove  of  second  growth. 

Do. 

Partially  free;  in  forest. 
Free;  old  field. 

3.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 

173 

138 

Bivin8,Tei 

Grandin.Mo 

Cullman,  Ala 

Grandin.Mo 

Cullman,  Ala 

do 

do 

t  shoot. 

6 

5 

10 

hoot  19 

SrvTnt-Te^?.:::::::: 

159 

135 

Gurdon,  Ark 

Grandin.Mo 

160 

Guniuu,  Ark ::::;;;: 

155 

106 


TIMHER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

fth  of  ShorUeaf  Pine  during  stage  of  rigorous  grouth,  from  fifty  to  one  hinidrnl  and  ; 


X  umber  of 

stump. 

•Diani 

Below 
crown. 

foSi   Total 
limb  or,  height, 
crown. 

Length 
timber. 

Locality. 

Remarks. 

52 

58 
CO 

73 
102 
102 
102 
105 
109 

111 
114 

Inches. 
6* 

1^^ 

12 

\l' 
19 
15 
22 

21 
17 

Inches. 

Feet.       Feet. 

22     1         46 

20  50 
45             81 

38            80 
62             94 
45     '         95 
38           109 
32            64* 
42           101 

Feet. 
32 

168 

'In Ix|M,"',',,  'i',!^    ..|,,.uiiij!  in  forest. 

Baldwin  Couuty.Ala.,     '  ..,.-ii,„,     i..,,„iY  sand,  with  Cuban  Pine;  exp.isur.- 
near  Tensaw-kive. ,          i,,,                    '                                              '       ' 

165 

iMwis,,,.,.  ir,.,.;  op,-n  forest. 
I':n,,.,llj    ln....n-ravell.vrids.-. 
;;x|.....in,-    |,:irlially    free;    open    forest;    dry    hill; 
sandy,  si-avellyioam.                                •        .            ■ 
Kxposure  Ireo;  gravelly  loam. 
Oppressed  on  all  sides;  red  heart  above  36  fict. 
JSxposure   free;     open    I'oresti    rocky,    and    sandv 

'}"    

^5 

40 

do 

415              at     '         iiV 

M 

Culluum.Ala 

Growth  of  ShorUeaf  Pine  during  stage  of  slow  growth,  latest  stage  of  life. 


Number  of  [  ^\^g« 
^^  ■         [stump. 


Heigh 

!  to  firs 


Inches. 

Inches. 

24 

20 

24 

ig 

20 

20J 

22 

23 

25 

22 

102     I 


Do, 

Do. 
Open  forest;  clay  hill;  exposur 
Exposure  free:  rocky  table-Ian 
Exposure  free;  gravelly  hilKsid 
Kocky  table. land;  exposure  IVe 

Do. 
Rocky    (able-la 

suppressed. 
Cold  soil;  exposure  free. 
Cold  soil:  exposure  free;  afiected 

red  heart. 
Exposure  free;  soil  loamy;  deep. 


posure    partially  free; 


sliglitly 
•et    with 


From  the  general  table  (No.  IV)  and  the  corresponding  diagram  it  seems  that  in  the  average 
the  tree  at  twenty  is  about  30  feet  high,  reaches  50  feet  at  the  age  of  forty,  and  that  its  growth  in 
height  is  in  the  main  finished  at  the  early  age  of  70.  In  keeping  with  this,  the  growth  in 
diameter  is  quite  rapid  during  the  first  fifty  years,  continues  at  a  moderate  pace  up  to  SO,  when 
the  age  of  slow  growth  is  entered. 


RATE    OF    GROWTH    OF    SHORTLEAF    PINE. 
Table  lY.—Eafe  of  growth  of  ShortJeaf  Pine. 


107 


LeDgth 

Diameter     of  log 

Iwith  bark'  with  up- 

(breast    per  diam 

liigb).    i  eterofS 


Periodical  growtb  by  decades. 


og  up  to' 
> inches 


Area  of  !  r-r„T  I  Current 

cross       Volume,  ^accretion.  "*'"''*""'■ 


Jncho. 

Feet. 

3.0 

15 

26 

12.7 

48 

14.5 

56 

16.0 

17.0 

67 

3.0t5.2t7.4-t-9.3-t-|I.O--t--l2.7--t--  14.5- 


I6.Q- 


■i6.5--f--i7.o-->; 

DIAMETERS 
IN  INCHES. 


rth  of  Shortk-n 


CONDITIONS    OF    DEVELOPMENT. 

Soil  and  climate. — The  Shortleaf  I'iue  prefers  a  well-draiued,  light  sandy  or  gravelly  clay  soil 
or  varm  loam,  eveu  if  deficient  in  the  elements  of  plant  food.  Soils  of  this  character  which  are 
fouLd  widely  prevailing  over  the  undulating  or  broken  uplands,  if  only  of  suflScient  depth,  will 
produce  this  tree  iu  greatest  perfection.  It  avoids  the  strongly  calcareous  and  the  rich  alluvial 
soils,  as  well  as  purely  silicious,  being  dependent  on  the  presence  of  a  certain  amount  of  clay  by 
whicl\  the  mechanical  condition  of  the  soil  is  improved,  rendering  it  more  com])act  and  more 


108  TIMBER    PINES   OF   THE   SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

retentive  of  luoisture.  That  a  purely  sandy  and  highly  porous  soil  is  not  favorable  to  this  tree 
is  shown  by  thi^  stunted  growth  of  the  waifs  sometimes  found  in  the  openings  of  the  forests  of 
Longleaf  Pine  on  the  sandy,  arid  uplands  in  the  lower  part  of  the  coast  pine  belt. 

Distributed  in  its  range  over  10  degrees  of  latitude  and  exposed  to  wide  differences  of 
temperature,  it  shows  almost  the  same  thrift  of  growth  near  its  northern  limits  under  the  isotherm 
of  50^  F.,  and  in  regions  where  the  thermometer  falls  to  near  20^  below  zero,  as  in  lower  latitudes 
with  a  mean  annual  temperature  of  04°  F.  It  can,  therefore,  endure  a  considerable  range  of 
temperature. 

The  conditions  of  atmospheric  moisture  evidently  exercise  a  much  more  decided  influence 
over  its  distribution,  and,  without  doubt,  upon  its  individual  development.  The  tree  is  found  in 
greatest  abundance  and  of  best  growth  where,  within  the  limits  of  its  ilistribution,  the  annual 
rainfall  varies  between  48  to  52  inches,  it  is  less  frequent  in  the  districts  where  the  precipitation 
exceeds  50  inches,  still  scarcer  where  the  annual  rainfall  averages  below  44  inches,  and  entii-ely 
wanting  where  this  is  less  than  40  inches.  Hence  it  is  found  best  developed  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  Gulf  States  and  west  of  the  Mississippi  River  in  adjacent  northern  districts  from  the  interior 
of  Georgia  to  northeastern  Texas,  where  the  most  favorable  conditions  in  regard  to  atmospheric 
l>recipitation  iirevail.  The  tree  seems  to  avoid  the  humid  air  of  the  coast  along  the  Gulf,  as  well 
as  along  the  seashore  of  the  Southern  Atlantic  States,  nor  does  it  ascend  the  mountains  in  these 
States  above  an  altitude  of  2,500  feet. 

RELATION    TO    LIGHT    AND    ASSOCIATED    SPECIES. 

The  Shortleaf  Pine,  like  most  pines,  is  a  light-needing  species,  being,  howeser,  less  sensitive 
to  a  deficiency  in  this  direction  than  the  Longleaf  and  Cuban  pines,  which  latter  succumb  in 
competition  with  the  Shortleaf  Pine.  Originally  the  Shortleaf  Pine  is  found  more  or  less  asso- 
ciated with  various  oaks  (Spanish  Oak,  Blackjack,  Scarlet  Oak,  Post  Oak,  and  Black  Oak),  the 
Mockernut  and  the  Pignut  Hickorj^,  and  more  rarely  with  the  Chestnut,  the  Mountain  Oak,  and 
the  Scrub  Pine.  All  of  these  species  prefer*  the  warm,  lighter  soils  of  the  uplands.  These 
companions  of  the  Shortleaf  Pine  are  joined  in  the  lower  Southern  States  by  the  Loblolly  and 
Longleaf  Pine.  Wherever  in  these  upland  forests  an  opening  is  made  the  Shortleaf  Pine  gains 
over  its  associates,  finding  its  only  successful  rival  in  the  Loblolly  Pine.  It  is  in  the  Southern 
States  proverbial  that  in  the  upland  forests  "the  pine  is  crowding  out  the  hard- wood  timber," 
a  fact  earlj^  observed.  The  displacement  is  effected  either  gradually  in  the  course  of  time,  or 
instantly  when  the  removal  of  the  original  timber  growth  has  been  sudden.  In  the  upper  part 
of  the  maritime  pine  belt,  where  it  is  associated  with  the  Longleaf  Pine,  the  latter  is  sure  to  be 
replaced  by  the  Shortleaf  species,  often  joined  in  the  course  of  such  invasion  by  the  Loblolly  Pine. 


Little  is  known  of  the  fungoid  parasites  and  of  the  insects  endangering  the  life  of  the 
Shortleaf  Pine.  From  my  own  observation,  it  seems  that  this  tree  is  less  affected  by  the  former 
than  the  other  ijines  of  the  same  region.  In  the  lumbering  districts  of  Alabama  a  disease  called 
redheart  or  redrot,  caused  by  the  mycelium  of  a  large  species  of  Polyporus,  which  is  so  highly 
destructive  to  the  Longleaf  Pine,  is  in  this  species  almost  unknown.  In  northeastern  Texas  this 
disease  was  found  to  affect  the  superannuated  timber  trees,  which  were  over  two  hundred  years 
old.  According  to  A.  S.  Packard '  the  hosts  of  insects  affecting  this  pine  seriously  are  scarcely  less 
in  number  than  those  infesting  the  Longleaf  Pine;  its  enemies  belong  to  the  same  or  very  uetu'ly 
related  kinds.  Among  the  borers  the  Monohammiis  co7ifusor  a,ud  other  species  of  the  same  geaus 
dig  burrows  in  the  timber  to  the  heart;  the  larv;e  of  numerous  i>H^res^irfrt',  Ceramhycida;  ind 
CurculionkJa'  burrow  under  the  bark,  and  the  Tomicus  caUiyrdphiis,  cacoyruphus,  ccelatus,  and 
other  species  of  Scohitida',  at  certain  seasons  are  in  immense  numbers  carrying  on  their  wo.-k  of 
destruction  in  the  cambium  layer,  leaving  in  wonderful  delineation  on  the  inside  of  the  bar;c  the 
marks  of  their  pernicious  activity  and  causing  the  si)eedy  death  of  the  tree. 

Mr.  E.  A.  Schwarz,  of  the  Division  of  Entomology,  Department  of  Agriculture,  remarks  ni  tliis 
connection  that  of  more  than  usual  interest  is  the  remarkable  and  disastrous  invasion  of  one  of 


'A.  S.  Packard:  Insects  iujurious  to  forest  aud  shade  trees. 


ENEMIES    OF    SHORTLEAF    PINE.  109 

these  bark-boring  Scolytid  beetles  [Dendroctonus  frontalis),  which  in  former  years  was  universally 
considered  a  rare  species.  This  invasion  started  in  1888  from  the  mountainous  regions  of  West 
Virginia  and  within  four  years  spread  throughout  the  Alleghany  IMountains  and  adjacent  lowlands 
from  Pennsylvania  to  the  Carolinas.  The  amount  of  damage  caused  by  this  beetle  within  that  time 
to  the  Shortleaf  Pine  and  other  pine  trees  has  been  enormous.  A  contagious  disease,  probably  of 
a  fungoid  character,  terminated  in  1892  this  invasion  just  as  suddenly  as  it  had  commenced,  and 
in  1893  not  a  single  living  beetle  could  be  found  throughout  the  infested  region.  The  white  froth 
hiding  the  larva  of  a  tree  jumper  {Aphrophora  paraUela)  is  very  common  on  the  summits  of  the 
twigs,  the  larvji?  of  the  sawflies  are  seen  at  the  same  season  to  feed  on  the  teTider,  young  foliage, 
which  is  also  infested  by  a  small  white  Gelcchia  depositing  its  eggs  on  the  leaves,  the  larvae  boring 
into  them  to  provide  shelter  for  their  pupiu;  and  according  to  Mr.  Schwarz  the  leaves  of  the 
Shortleaf  Pine  are  frequently  found  completely  covered  by  a  scale  insect  [MytilaHpiH  pini/oJia), 
causing  what  is  termed  in  2few  England  the  "  white  malady "  of  the  pine.  Of  the  ilat-headed 
borers,  larvse  of  the  Biqyrcstifia',  the  most  injurious  species  are  Chrysoholhris  dentipes  (Germ.), 
Chalcophora  rirf/iniensis  (Drury);  less  common,  Chalcophora  georcjiana  (,Lec.)  and  Bupresth  lincata 
Fab. 

Exposed  to  the  same  dangers  of  destruction  by  forest  fires  and  by  live  stock  of  every  kind, 
which  threaten  the  Longleaf  species  with  extermination,  the  chances  of  this  pine  to  resist  them 
and  to  escape  such  eventually  are  more  favorable  in  consequence  of  the  greater  facilities  for  its 
reproduction  and  of  its  rapidity  of  growth  during  the  earliest  stages  of  its  existence. 

The  pernicious  influences  of  the  first  of  these  agencies  is,  however,  painfully  visible  near  the 
settlements  where  the  forest  is  exposed  to  its  effects  one  season  after  another.  In  such  localities 
the  pines  are  of  stunted  growth;  in  the  middle  stage — their  very  prime  of  life — they  exhibit  signs 
of  decay  and  early  death.  But  few  of  the  younger  trees  exposed  to  fire  were  found  on  close 
examination  to  be  free  from  defects  and  marks  of  impending  disease. 

Confined  to  the  gentle  slopes  of  the  low  hill  country,  to  rolling  uplands,  and  to  broad  table-lands, 
this  tree  is  scarcely  exposed  to  destruction  by  torrents  and  floods.  Unsought  for  its  resinous 
juices,  it  is  not  subjected  to  the  wholesale  destruction  caused  by  the  prevalent  methods  employed 
in  the  manufacture  of  naval  stores.  No  other  timber  tree  found  in  the  southern  portion  of  the 
Atlantic  forest  region  is  more  easy  of  natural  reproduction  than  this  species  throughout  the  wide 
range  of  its  distribution.  This  is  readily  accounted  for  by  its  great  fecundity,  the  seeds  produced 
in  great  abundance  almost  without  failure  every  year  being  profusely  spread  far  and  wide,  and 
germinatinjv  easily  wherever  the  proper  soil  and  a  chance  is  offered  for  their  reception.  By  their 
thrifty  growtti  the  seedlings  soon  gain  the  upper  hand  over  tlie  contemporary  growth  of  other 
species. 

Thi-oughoutthe  interior  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf  States  tracts  of  upland,  originally  covered 
with  fine  oak  forests,  which  had  been  cleared  for  cultivation  and  but  little  over  half  a  century  ago 
abandoned,  are  found  at  present  occupied  by  the  Shortleaf  Pine,  forming  dense  groves  of  trees 
65  feet  and  over  in  height,  with  a  diameter  of  10  to  12  inches,  st.anding  18  to  20  feet  apart,  with  no 
undergrowth  whatever.'  Such  young  forests,  met  with  in  every  stage  of  growth,  afl'ord  highly 
instructive  lessons  of  the  ways  taken  by  nature  in  the  spontaneous  restoration  of  the  forest.  In 
such  spontaneous  growths  of  the  Shortleaf  Pine  the  saplings  form  from  the  first  mostly  dense 
thickets.  Before  having  arrived  at  their  tenth  year  the  work  of  thinning  has  activelj'  begun  by 
the  death  and  speedy  decay  of  the  weakest.  Thus  favored  by  the  access  of  light  and  air,  the 
surviving  trees  shoot  rapidly  upward,  the  most  aspiring  individuals  spreading  out  their  crown, 
overshadowing  those  lagging  behind,  which  being  thus  cut  oft'  from  the  influences  above  all  others 
required  for  their  existence,  one  after  another  die.  Before  the  trees  have  reached  the  middle  stage 
of  their  growth  the  stand  of  timber  in  the  young  forest  appears  to  be  firmly  established,  and 
during  the  following  period,  embracing  less  than  half  a  century,  they  have  attained  the  fullness 
of  their  growth,  furnishing  timber  fully  matured  and  of  the  dimensions  and  quality  required  by 
the  present  standard.  Unchecked  by  destructive  influences  the  rotation  of  a  crop  of  timber  of  the 
Shortleaf  Pine  produced  without  the  interference  or  assistance  of  man,  can  be  said  to  be  accom- 
plished within  a  period  of  from  eighty-five  to  ninety-five  years. 

'Charles  Mohr:  Proeeediugs  of  the  Fourth  Anuual  Meetiug  of  the  Americau  Forestry  Congress,  Bostou,  Sep- 
tember, 1885. 


110  TIMUER    PINE^?    OK    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


FOREST    MANAGEMENT. 

From  the  place  this  species  is  taking  among  the  second  growth  it  can  be  safely  predicted  that 
it  is  destined  to  be  the  timber  tree  of  the  future,  as  far  as  the  Southern  States  of  the  Atlantic 
forest  region  north  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  belt  are  concerned.  It  is  upon  this  tree  that  in  this 
section  succeeding  generations  will  have  to  depend  for  their  supplies  of  pine  timber  of  superior 
quality,  and  in  which  the  nearest  substitute  is  to  be  found  for  the  supplies  furnished  at  present 
by  the  Ijongleaf  Pine.  That  the  resources  of  the  latter  under  the  increasing  strain  to  which  it 
is  subjected  will  be  completely  exhausted  before  its  restoration  can  be  effected  is  too  evident  to 
admit  of  any  doubt. 

Among  the  timber  trees  of  the  coniferous  order  found  in  the  Atlantic  forests,  there  is,  then, 
scarcely  a  species  presenting  stronger  claims  to  the  attention  of  the  forester  than  the  Shortleaf 
Pine.  As  far  as  its  demands  npon  climate  and  soil  are  concerned,  it  is  capable  of  successfully 
establishing  itself  over  the  immense  territory  reaching  from  30^  to  38°  north  latitude  and  from 
the  Atlantic  Slope  to  the  treeless  plains  of  the  West,  embracing  within  these  limits  areas  of  wide 
extent,  with  all  the  conditions  required  for  the  best  development  of  this  species,  and  in  great 
measure  adapted  to  nothing  better  than  the  growth  of  timber.  Of  not  less  importance  than  its 
value  as  a  timber  tree  are  its  facilities  for  natural  renewal,  resulting  from  the  abundant  crops  of 
seed  produced  almost  without  failure  every  year  and  its  aggressive  behavior  toward  competing 
species  in  the  successful  struggle  for  the  possession  of  the  soil. 

From  a  closer  observation  of  the  young  forests  of  spontaneous  growth  at  different  stages,  it  is 
a])parent  that  in  the  establishment  and  rearing  of  a  forest  of  Shortleaf  Pine,  where  mother  trees 
exist,  nature  reijuires  comparatively  little  assistance  from  the  hands  of  the  forester,  and  that  the 
efforts  of  the  latter  will  be  chiefly  confined  to  measures  of  protection  against  destruction  by 
fire  and  against  the  injuries  caused  by  inroads  of  live  stock  during  the  earlier  stages  of  growth. 
That  by  thinning  out,  practiced  after  the  first  to  the  middle  or  end  of  the  third  decade,  the  forest 
growth  would  be  benefited,  there  can  be  but  little  doubt.  To  what  extent,  by  such  interference, 
the  production  of  merchantable  timber  can  be  promoted  and  in  (luantity  and  quality  improved  at 
the  least  cost  remains  a  matter  of  future  experiment.  In  the  total  absence  of  facts,  based  on 
experiment,  no  suggestion  can  be  offered  on  these  points  other  than  such  as  can  be  deduced  from 
the  natural  requirements  of  this  species,  as  already  discussed. 

In  conclusion,  it  can  be  safely  asserted  that  the  Shortleaf  Pine  is  destined  to  take  a  prominent 
place  in  the  forest  management  of  the  future  throughout  the  regions  favorable  to  its  growth,  not 
only  on  account  of  its  economic  value  in  the  natural  forest,  but  also  in  holding  out  better  pros- 
pects to  the  forest  planter  for  the  production  of  timber  of  higher  quality  in  the  shortest  time 
than  any  tree  of  the  same  order  in  the  Southern  Atlantic  forest  region.  That  the  methods  of  a 
rational  forest  management  will  have  to  be  resorted  to  at  no  distant  time  can  with  certainty  be 
predicted,  although  the  timber  wealth  existing  at  present  in  the  vast  territory  of  its  growth  may 
appear  enormous. 

Of  great  importance  in  the  reforestation  of  large  areas,  this  tree  is  of  no  less  significance  to 
the  farmer  who  is  aware  of  the  advantages  resulting  from  the  restoration  of  the  tree-covering  on 
his  denuded  uplands,  either  originally  unfit  for  profitable  tillage  or  thrown  out  of  cultivation  after 
their  exhaustion.  By  the  facility  of  its  natural  renewal  the  Shortleaf  Pine  affords  within  a  short 
time  a  firm  protection  to  the  light  soil,  preventing  it  from  being  carried  away  by  wind  and  rain, 
providing  a  shelter  for  the  crops  and  for  insectivorous  birds,  a  lasting  income  of  increasing  sup- 
plies of  timber  and  fuel  on  lands  that  yield  no  other  profit  whatever,  and  to  the  lands  abandoned 
after  their  exhaustion  a  chance  for  their  recuperation  while  resting  under  the  cover  of  its  shade. 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES  ON  SHORTLEAF  PINE. 

By  FiLiitERT  Roth. 
(September  1,  1897.) 

As  miybt  be  expected  from  its  wide  and  extremely  irregular  distribution,  this  tree  receives 
many  uames  and  in  many  localities  is  little  or  not  known  even  to  otherwise  quite  well-informed 
woodmen.  Thus  in  an  entire  county  of  South  Carolina,  where  the  tree  occurs  but  sparsely,  not  a 
single  man  was  met  who  recognized  this  species.  Among  the  many  appellations  the  name  "Kose- 
mary"  deserves  mention,  having  wide  and  varied  application  and  having  led  to  considerable 
controversy  and  much  confusion.  Api)arently  this  name  originated  in  the  North  Carolina'  ])inery, 
where  even  to-day  this  tree,  though  by  no  means  abundant,  is  well  known  to  all  woodmen.  In  the 
country  about  the  Albemarle  and  Pamlico  sounds  all  woodmen  interviewed  invariably  knew  it 
and  consistently  called  it  Rosemary  Pine.  In  the  towns  and  by  manufacturers  in  this  district  and 
also  in  the  coast  pine  belt  farther  south  the  tree  is  generally  not  known  at  all,  but  the  word 
"Kosemary  "  is  nevertheless  in  common  use,  and  Rosemary  Pine  timber  held  iu  especial  regard. 
(Questioning  many  of  the  exi)erienced  manufacturers,  it  was  found  that  Rosemary  Pine  in  the  market 
towns  refers  not  to  a  particular  species  but  to  large  select  fine  grained  timbers  of  any  pine  except 
Longleaf,  and  was  formerly  a  much-desired  article  for  ship  planking,  etc.,  being  less  resinous, 
softer,  and  claimed  to  be  less  prone  to  shrink  and  swell  than  the  wood  of  Longleaf  Pine. 

As  mentioned  in  the  monograph,  Shditlcaf  Pine  occurs  only  scatteringly  in  the  great  pinery  of 
North  Carolina  and  southern  Vir-inia.  and  forms  probably  not  as  much  as  1  per  cent  of  the  total 
cut  of  the  North  Carolina  pine  on  the  market.  In  Texas,  where  this  species  is  generally  called 
Shortleaf  Pine,  it  was  seen  as  far  west  as  Houston,  mingling  in  small  (juantities  and  small  sizes 
with  the  Loblolly.  Going  in  a  northeastern  direction,  it  becomes  more  and  more  abundant,  being 
the  predominant  tree  east  of  the  Neches  River  and  north  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  district. 

The  Shortleaf  Pine  remains  generally  undersized  in  the  coast  pine  belts,  where  fair-sized  spec- 
imens are  rarely  met.  In  its  proper  home,  in  eastern  Texas  and  Arkansas,  it  attains  fair  dimen- 
sions, generally  70  to  90  feet  high  and  less  than  30  inches  diameter.  Its  growth,  though  occasionally 
quite  rapid,  seems  usually  much  slower  than  that  of  Loblolly,  a  fact  especially  true  of  the  regions 
where  it  is  most  abundant.  In  hundreds  of  groves  the  leaders  of  small  saplings  were  found  com- 
monly less  than  12  inches  long,  thus  remaining  much  behind  the  other  Southern  pines  in  this 
respect.  More  even  than  Loblolly,  the  Shortleaf  requires  a  close  stand  to  induce  cleaning  of 
limbs. 

The  phenomenon  of  sprouting  was  well  illustrated  all  along  the  Houston,  East  and  West 
Texas  and  also  the  St.  Louis,  Iron  Mountain  and  Southern  railways  as  far  north  as  Iron  Moun- 
tain, Mo.,  where  hundreds  of  acres  of  the  right  of  way  were  covered  with  the  bushy  clusters  of 
vigorous  sprouts,  10  to  30  from  one  stump. 

Like  Pond  Pine,  the  Shortleaf  is  sometimes  bled  for  turpentine.  One  tree  was  seen  with 
two  boxes  which  had  been  worked  for  at  least  ten  years  and  then  abandoned,  and  two  new  boxes 
worked  for  the  second  season  this  year  (1897). 


'  Probably  suggested  by  the  small  rosemary  bead-like  cones  clustered  in  great  abundance  on  old  trees. 

Ill 


13,  Division  of  Foi 


PLATE   XVII. 


Loblolly  Pine  (Pinus  t/eda). 


THE  LOBLOLLY  PINE. 

(PINUS  TvCDA   Linn.) 


History  and  Distribution. 

Products. 

Botanical  Description. 

Description  of  Wood. 

Progress  of  Development. 

Conditions  of  Development. 

Reproduction. 

Additional  Notes  on  Lohlolly  Pine. 


25CGG— No.  13—02 


THE  LOBLOLLY  PINE. 

(Phius  ia-da  Liun.} 

SyDonyms:  Pinits  twda  Linu:nns,  Spec.  PI.,  ed.  1,  ii,  1000,  excl.  habitat  •'Canada: })aludosis"  (1753). 
Piiius  tada  a  ienuifoUa  Aiton,  Hort.  Kew.,  ed.  1,  iii,  368  (1789). 
Pinus  ta-da  Rafinescjue,  Flor.  Liulovic,  162  (1817),  nomeii  nuditm. 

COMMON  OR  LOCAL  NAMES. 


Loblolly   Pine  (Del.,  Va.,  N.  C,  S.  C,  G;i.,  Ala., 

Fla.,  Miss.,  La.,  Tex.,  Ark.). 
Oldfield  Pine  (Del.,  Va.,  N.  C,  S.  C,  Ga.,  Ala.,  Fla., 

Miss.,  La.,  Tex.,  Ark.). 
Torch  Pine  (Eng.  lit.). 
Rosemary  Pine  (Va.,  N.  C). 
Slash  Pine  (Va.,  N.  C,  in  part). 
LongSchiit  Pine  (Del.). 
Long  Shucks  (Md.,  Va.). 
Black  Slash  Pine  (S.  C). 
Frankincense  Pine  (lit.). 
Shortleaf  Pine  (Va.,  N.  C,  S.  C,  La.). 
Bull  Pine  (Tex.  and  Gulf  region). 
114 


Virginia  Pine. 
Sap  Pine  (Va.,  N.  C). 
Meadow  Pine  (Fla.). 
Cornstalk  Pine  (Va.). 
Black  Pine  (Va.). 
Foxtail  Pine  (Va.,  Md.). 
Indian  Pine  (Va.,  N.  C). 
Spruce  Pine  (Va.,  in  part). 
Bastard  Pine  (Va.,  N.  C). 
Yellow  Pine  (N.  Ala.,  N.  C.) 
Sw.anip  Pine  (Va.,  N.  C). 
Longstraw  Pine  (Va.,  N.  C. 


THE  LOBLOLLY  PINK. 


By  CiiAiiLES  Moms,  Ph.  D. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Among  tlie  trees  remarkable  for  the  part  tbey  take  in  tbe  spontaneous  renewal  of  the  forests 
in  the  Southern  Atlantic  region  after  the  destructive  interference  by  man,  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  most 
prominent.  This  readiness  to  occupy  the  ground  lends  to  it  a  special  economic  siguilicance  in 
forest  growth,  aside  from  its  value  as  a  source  of  timber  and  as  an  abundant  source  of  fuel. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  future  management  of  the  forest.s  of  the  lower  Southern  States 
the  Loblolly  Pine  will  be  assigned  a  highly  important  place.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  the  fact 
that  in  the  older  of  the  States  within  the  limits  of  its  distribution,  where  the  original  timber 
growth  has  sufi'ered  greatest  reduction,  as  in  North  Carolina,  the  second  growth  of  this  tree  is 
largely  depended  upon  to  furnish  the  timber  supplj'  for  the  existing  lumbering  industry. 

Although  known  to  have  contributed  to  the  necessities  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  these  coasts, 
and  forming  at  present  a  large  part  of  the  lumber  supplies  reaching  the  markets  east  and  west  of 
the  3Iississippi  Kiver,  the  merits  of  the  Loblolly  Pine  and  its  economic  bearings  are  generally  but 
little  understood,  wide  differences  of  opinion  about  its  value  as  a  timber  tree  prevailing.  Such 
diversity  of  opinion  is  in  itself  a  sufficient  reason  for  a  fuller  investigation  of  its  life  history. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  monograph  the  writings  of  F.  A.  Michaux  '  and  Kev.  M.  A.  Curtis^ 
and  the  report  of  the  Tenth  Census  '  have  been  consulted.  To  Prof.  Lester  Ward  and  Mr.  Canby^ 
thanks  are  due  for  valuable  information  on  the  distribution  of  the  Loblolly  Pine  toward  its 
northern  limits,  ^luch  information  of  practical  value  was  elicited  by  the  Division  of  Forestry 
from  numerous  manufacturers  of  and  dealers  in  lumber  in  the  lower  part  of  Virginia  and  in  North 
Carolina,  which  has  been  largely  quoted. 

HISTORICAL. 

The  Loblolly  Pine  was  recognized  as  a  timber  tree  of  value  by  the  earliest  settlers  of  lower 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  Its  timber  was  largely  used  in  the  construction  of  their  dwellings. 
Michaux  states  that  three  fourths  of  the  houses  iu  lower  Virginia  were  built  of  Loblolly  Pine,  and 
that  its  mighty  trunks,  furnishing  shafts  of  clear  timber  of  largest  size,  were  in  early  days  held 
in  high  esteem  for  masts  by  the  navies  of  the  world.  The  distinctive  characters  of  the  tree  were 
clearly  understood  by  the  earliest  writers  on  North  American  botany.  F.  A.  Michaux  defined 
the  northern  limits  of  the  tree  and  its  distribution  in  tbe  southern  Atlantic  States,  and  first 
pointed  to  its  economic  value.  Tbe  Eev.  M.  A.  Curtis  gives  an  account  of  its  distribution  in 
North  Carolina  and  rec'Oguized  tbe  form  distinguished  in  that  State  as  Slash  Pine  or  Rosemary 
Pine.  Investigations  of  tiie  forest  growth  by  tbe  writer,  under  the  direction  of  Prof.  Charles 
S.  Sargent,  for  the  Tenth  Census,  and  later  investigations  made  in  the  transmississippi  region, 
under  tbe  direction  of  the  Division  of  Forestry,  have  led  to  a  niore  accurate  knowledge  of  the 

'  Michanx,  F.  A.     The  Xorth  American  Silva.     Philadelphia,  1856. 

-Curtis,  M.  A.  The  Timber  Trees  of  Xorth  Carolina.  Geol.  and  Natural  History  Survey  of  North  Carolina. 
Part  III,  Botany.     Raleigh,  18f.O.  ,       K 

3  Volume  9  of  the  Tenth  Census.     Charles  S.  .Sarfjent. 

115 


116  TIMBER  PINES  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  UNITED  STATES. 

distribution  of  tliis  tree  iu  tlie  Southwestern  States,  to  the  establishment  of  its  western  and 
uortbern  boundary  lines,  and  to  a  more  general  appreciation  of  its  economic  importance  in  its 
eastern  and  western  range. 

GEOGRAPHICAL    DISTRIBUTION    AND  ECONOMIC   HISTORY. 

The  Loblolly  Pine  extends  from  the  Delaware  and  Maryland  peninsula  through  lower  Virginia 
to  Cape  Malabar  in  Florida,  and  all  over  the  Gulf  States  and  southern  Arkansas  to  the  Colorado 
Eiver  in  Texas  (see  PI.  XVIII).  The  northern  limit  of  the  Loblolly  Pine  can  be  described  by  a 
line  drawn  from  the  lower  part  of  Newcastle  County,  Del.,  thi'ough  the  District  of  Columbia,  to 
Petersburg,  Va.,  thence  toward  middle  North  Carolina,  following  in  its  western  course  nearly  the 
thirty-fifth  degree  of  north  latitude  to  the  southern  boundary  of  Tennessee,  through  southern 
Arkansas  to  the  southeastern  confines  of  the  Indian  Territory.  Its  most  western  station  is  an 
isolated  tract  of  small  extent  near  Bastroi),  Tex.,  the  sole  and  last  representative  of  the  Atlantic 
pines  in  the  Southwest. 

Michaux  the  younger  established  the  northern  limit  of  the  Loblolly  Pine  near  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.,  between  the  Eappahannock  and  Potomac  rivers;  M.  A.  Curtis  placed  it  in  or  close 
to  the  District  of  Columbia.  Its  occurrence  in  the  District  was,  however,  considered  doubtful,  or 
merely  accidental,  until  in  18SS  it  was  confirmed  by  Dr.  George  Vasey,  who  discovered  a  group  ot 
fullgrown  trees  iu  the  woods  near  the  Eeform  School.  Mr.  William  Canby  states  that  he  "  found 
in  the  lower  part  of  Newcastle  County,  Del.,  a  good  many  Loblolly  Pines,  and  from  the  point 
mentioned  it  becomes  more  and  more  plentiful  and  widespread  in  the  Delaware-Maryland 
peninsula." 

On  the  Atlantic  Slope,  near  its  northern  limit,  the  Loblolly  Pine  occurs  most  frequently  in  the 
flat  lands  of  the  tidewater  districts,  forming  rarely  continuous  forests,  more  frequently  less  com- 
pact bodies  of  timber,  associated  with  the  Shortleaf  Pine,  oaks,  and  other  hard-wood  trees. 

In  Virginia  this  tree  is  not  found  beyond  the  northern  limit  of  the  Tertiary  strata  of  the  coast 
region,  and  is  not  met  with  west  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond. 

In  the  lower  part  of  this  State,  as  in  North  Carolina,  the  Loblolly  Pine  was  formerly  found  in 
great  perfection  and  abundance — broad  forest  belts  of  Loblolly  alternating  with  forests  of  Shortleaf 
in  Michaux's  time.  The  original  forests  have,  however,  in  a  great  measure  disappeared,  and  their 
progeny,  of  second  or  third  growth,  is  now  depended  upon  as  the  principal  source  of  lumber. 
On  the  lands  exhausted  by  the  earlier  planters,  and  which  have  been  abandoned  for  several 
generations,  the  timber  of  this  Sap  Pine,  or  Oldfield  Pine,  has  in  many  localities  attained  dimensions 
and  a  degree  of  maturitj'  fitting  it  for  all  purposes  for  which  timber  of  the  original  growth  is 
employed.  This  important  fact  is  confirmed  by  parties  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  in  south- 
eastern Virginia  and  in  eastern  North  Carolina. 

From  information  received  it  is  evident  that  in  these  parts  the  second  growth  of  Loblolly  Pine 
is  chiefly  depended  upon  for  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  and  it  is  now  ascertained  that  the 
Shortleaf  Pine  contributes  but  a  small  part  of  the  timber  supply.  lioth  of  these  trees  are  known 
by  the  inhabitants  as  Shortleaf,  or  Shortstraw,  Pine,  and  their  timber  is  sawn  indiscriminately;  the 
proportions  of  the  lumber  of  either  reaching  the  markets  can  therefore  not  be  determined.  Mr. 
Joseph  Allard,  jr.,  of  Richmond,  reports  that  most  of  the  Virginia  Pine  is  Loblolly  Pine,  and  that 
every  fifty  years  will  produce  trees  large  enough  for  sawlogs,  three  to  each  tree,  averaging  16  feet 
in  length.  Mr.  Sparrow,  of  Brooke,  Staflbrd  County,  states  that  the  pine  of  this  county,  and  in 
Caroline  County,  is  almost  entirely  of  the  Oldfield  Pine  (Loblolly  Pine),  and  that  in  the  latter  from 
thirty  to  forty  sawmills  are  cutting  this  pine.  Messrs.  J.  E.  and  Edward  Rogers,  from  Sufiblk 
County,  each  remark  that  "  large  quantities  of  lumber  are  manufactured  from  Oldfield  Pine,  which 
is  fast  taking  the  place  of  Yellow  Pine  (Pinus  echinata),  the  latter  having  been  used  up  by  the 
sawmills  in  this  section,"  The  young  timber  is,  according  to  the  same  accounts,  cut  into  joist.s, 
uprights,  and  other  square  stuft'  for  framing ;  the  best  quality  is  selected  for  flooring,  ceiling,  and 
other  inside  finish,  the  lumber  being  sold  under  the  name  of  Virginia  Pine  in  the  markets  of 
Washington,  Baltimore,  and  Philadelphia. 

On  the  coast  of  southern  A'irginia  the  Loblolly  Pine  forms  about  75  per  cent  of  the  timber 
standing.     According  to  all  accounts  the  original  growth  is  rapidly  disappearing,  but  the  exceed- 


Bulletin  No.  13,  Division  of  Forestry, 


DISTRIBUTIOX   OF    LOBLOLLY    PINE.  117 

ing\y  large  area  of  exhausted  lands  abandoned  in  that  section  by  the  cnltivators  during  a  long 
period  of  time  has  been  taken  entire  possession  of  by  this  tree. 

In  Xorth  Carolina  the  Loblolly  is  the  predominating  tree  throughout  the  eastern  coast  plain  and 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  State,  where  it  forms  extensive  forests,  more  or  less  frequently  interspersed 
with  Longleaf  Pine.  South  of  Cape  Fear  River,  however,  the  latter  prevails  almost  exclusively. 
In  the  extensive  region  watered  by  numerous  streams  flowing  iuto  Albemarle  and  Pamlico 
sounds,  in  the  rich,  moist  soil  of  the  wide  swamps  above  tide  water,  the  Loblolly  reaches  its  best 
development,  attaining  dimensions  which  place  this  tree  among  the  timber  trees  of  first  order. 
The  primeval  forests  of  this  pine  have,  however,  almost  completely  disappeared  in  this  region, 
and  with  them  the  gigantic  trees  of  this  species  known  in  the  market  as  Rosemary  Pine,  once  so 
highly  prized  and  eagerly  sought  in  shipbuilding.  Farther  south,  in  the  low  pine  barrens,  this 
tree  is  largely  superseded  by  the  Longleaf  Pine,  and  is  principally  confined  to  the  borders  of  the 
swamps  and  to  the  bottoms  along  the  water  courses.  Throughout  the  lowerpart  of  thecoast  pine 
belt,  after  the  removal  of  the  original  timber  growth,  the  progeny  of  the  Loblolly  Pine  iuimediately 
takes  possession  of  every  opening,  and  particularly  of  the  fields  thrown  out  of  cultivation. 

"The  principal  kinds  of  Loblolly  recognized  by  the  lumbermen  under  distinct  names  are: 

"  1.  Rosemary  Pine,  the  best  kind  from  the  trees  of  best  development,  of  a  fine  grain  but  heavy, 
hard,  durable,  with  bat  a  small  proportion  of  sapwood.  At  present  scarcely  known  by  name  at 
the  mills  in  the  section  where  half  a  century  ago  it  abounded. 

"  2.  Swamp  or  Slash  Pine,  of  a  coarser  grain,  with  about  one-half  of  the  diameter  of  the  tree  in 
sapwood.  This  kind  comprises  most  of  the  timber  of  original  growth,  and  the  oldest  and  best 
matured  second  growth. 

"  3.  Oldtield  Pine,  by  the  rapidity  of  its  growth,  is  very  coarse-grained  and  for  the  greater  part 
sap,  scarcely  one- fourth  of  the  diameter  being  heart.  At  present  the  principal  source  of  the  timber 
supplies  in  the  coast  region."' 

At  the  sawmills  at  Goldsboro,  close  to  the  border  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  region,  over  50  per  cent 
of  the  lumber  sawn  is  Loblolly  Pine.  On  a  trip  through  the  forests  between  the  2feuse  and  Trent 
rivers  it  was  observed  that  the  Loblolly  Pine  forms  over  two-thirds  of  the  tree  covering,  almost 
entirely  of  second  growth,  of  dimensions  to  furnish  sawlogs  of  from  10  to  18  inches  mean  diameter, 
by  a  length  of  from  15  to  30  feet.  The  sandy  swells  and  knolls  rising  above  the  flats  originally 
covered  with  the  Longleaf  Pine  are  not  infrequently  occupied  by  a  young  growth  of  Loblolly.  The 
mills  at  jSTewbern  and  vicinity  are  almost  solely  depending  for  their  lumber  sui)plies  upon  these 
forests  of  second  growth.  The  same  conditions  are  prevailing  in  Duplin  and  in  Pender  County, 
by  the  reports  of  operators.  Mr.  C.  C.  Williams,  at  Teacheys,  in  Duplin  County,  states  that  CG 
per  cent  of  the  timber  sawn  is  Loblolly  Pine,  mostly  of  second  growth,  furnishing  timber  for 
creosotiug  and  lumber  for  building  purposes. 

Mr.  Bauman,at  Burgaw,  reports  that  the  Oldfield  Pine  (Loblolly  of  second  growth)  is  coming 
more  and  more  into  use  every  year,  and  the  demand  for  this  kind  of  lumber  is  greatly  increasing. 
In  a  number  of  the  Newbern  journals  of  1891  it  is  stated  that  over  00,000,000  feet  of  lumber, 
board  measure,  were  produced  in  1891  by  the  mills  of  that  place  and  the  vicinity.  In  the  bulletin 
quoted  the  output  of  the  nine  mills  in  operation  during  1893  is  given  at  38,000,000  feet,  board  meas- 
ure. The  timber  delivered  at  the  mills  sells  for  about  $5  per  1,000  feet,  and  the  price  of  rough 
lumber  averages  $1'2. 

In  the  latest  report  on  the  forests  of  Xorth  Carolina  the  acreage  of  the  Loblolly  Pine,  including 
the  land  covered  with  the  second  growth,  and  where  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  taking  the  place  of  the 
Longleaf  Pine,  is  stated  as  exceeding  4,000,000  acres.  The  standing  merchantable  timber  can  be 
said  to  cover  1,150,000  acres.  Allowing  4,000  feet,  board  measure,  to  the  acre,  this  will  make 
4,000,000,000  feet  of  standing  Loblolly  Pine  in  1893.  The  total  cut  of  Loblolly  Pine  for  the  same 
year  has  been  reported  at  290,000,000  feet,  board  measure,^ 

In  South  Carolina  and  (Georgia  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  confined  all  over  the  coast  pine  belt  to  the 
more  or  less  swampy  borders  of  the  pine  barrens  scattered  among  the  broad-leaf  evergreens  and 

'The  Forests,  Forest  Lands,  and  Forest  Products  of  Eastern  North  Carolina.  \V.  W.  Ashe,  p.  41,  Bull.  5,  N.  C. 
Geol.  Survey. 

-W.  W.  Ashe,  Bulletin  No.  5,  North  Carolina  Geol.  Survey,  Raleigh,  1891,  p.  41. 


118 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


deciduous  trees  peculiar  to  these  latitudes— tlie  Magnolia,  Sweet  and  Ked  Bay,  Black  Gum,  and 
Titi,  associated  with  the  Cuban  Pine.  The  timber  of  the  Loblolly  Pine  produced  in  these  swamps 
is  of  good  quality,  but  with  the  sapwood  from  4  to  5  inches  on  a  radius  of  from  8  to  12  inches.  It 
has  been  noticed  that  among  the  original  tree-covering  Loblolly  Pines  above  2  feet  in  diameter 
were  frequently  found  aflected  with  dry  or  red  rot. 

On  the  dry  rolling  pine  uplands  of  tliese  States  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain  ranges,  rising  to  an 
elevation  of  800  to  1,000  feet  above  sea  level,  as  well  as  of  the  Gulf  States  east  of  the  Mississippi, 
this  pine  is  found  more  or  less  dispersed  among  the  hard-wood  timber,  but  is  considered  of  no  value 
except  for  fuel;  the  trees  branch  a  short  distance  above  the  ground  and  the  timber  is  too  knotty  to 
be  fit  for  lumber. 

Five  trees  from  the  damp,  llati)ine  barrens  bordering  upon  the  swamps,  felled  for  test  logs  in 
Hampton  County,  S.  C,  showed  the  following  dimensions: 


Measmemeiii 

X  off"-''  "•'''■»• 

Number  of 
rings  nn 
stuniji. 

Diameter 

at  breast 

bigh 

o^fe-e' 

"-tfmC!' 

Diameter  !    Sapwood 
below      i   on  radius 
crown.     !    of  butt. 

103 
103 
80 
95 

Inches. 
26 
22 

n 

19 

u 

Feet. 
118 
118 
103 

Pent. 
55 
70 
G6 

Inchen. 

13 
14 

Inches. 

1 

90 

54 

^ 

In  peninsular  Florida  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  more  rarely  found,,its  place  in  the  old  fields  being 
taken  either  by  Cuban  Pine  or  Longleaf  Pine. 

In  the  eastern  Gulf  States  throughout  the  coast  pine  belt  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  scattered  along 
the  swamps  bordering  the  water  courses.  Until  of  late  years  it  has  been  cut  only  on  special  orders 
for  low-priced  stuff  intended  for  temporary  purposes.  As  an  instance,  the  fact  may  be  cited  that 
the  millions  of  feet  of  square  sawn  timber  and  of  lumber  required  for  the  buildings  of  the  New 
Orleans  World's  Exposition  were  mostly  Loblolly  Pine,  sawn  at  Pearlington,  Miss.  Since  the 
introduction  of  the  dry-kiln  it  is  extensively  used  for  flooring  and  inside  finish.  In  the  fresh,  deep 
soil  of  light  loam  of  the  coast  plain  and  the  valleys  in  the  upper  part  of  the  pine  belt— the  region 
of  mixed  growth— this  tree  is  found  in  great  perfection.  In  these  districts  it  furnishes  clear  sticks 
of  from  50  to  60  feet  and  over  in  length.  A  considerable  proportion  of  the  long  and  heavy  sticks  of 
hewn  timber  reaching  the  Mobile  market  for  export  as  "  pitch  pine  "  coining  from  the  upper 
division  of  the  coast  pine  belt  in  Alabama  are  Loblolly  Pine.  The  timber  of  the  Loblolly  Pine  from 
the  table-lands  of  north  Alabama  is  of  excellent  quality,  with  but  a  small  proportion  of  sapwood 
from  2  to  3  inches  on  a  radius  of  from  10  to  12  inches,  heavy,  of  a  fine  close  grain,  and  hence  of 
greater  durability  and  strength.  The  lumber  from  that  region  finds  a  ready  market,  being  used 
for  all  the  purposes  of  the  house  carpenter,  and  is  indiscriminately  sold  with  the  product  of  the 
Shortleaf  Pine. 

On  the  table-lands  of  the  Warrior  coal  field  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  better  developed  than  in  any 
other  part  of  this  or  the  adjoining  State  of  Mississippi.  If  not  found  in  compact  forests  of  any 
considerable  expanse,  it  forms  bodies  of  heavy  timber  covering  the  flat  and  badly  drained  tracts, 
from  a  few  to  many  acres  in  extent,  associated  with  the  hard  wood  growth  peculiar  to  a  moist  soil. 
It  might  be  said  that  about  one-half  of  the  pine  timber  growth  of  these  highlands  consists  of  the 
Loblolly  Pine. 

The  following  measurements  have  been  taken  of  trees  felled  in  Cullman  County,  Ala.,  from 
heavily  timbered  land  several  acres  in  extent: 

Measnrements  of  four  trees. 


Rings  on 

Diameter 

Height  of 

Length  of 

stu^mp. 

breast  bigl;. 

Inches. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

150 

24 

103 

40 

100 

22 

45 

137 

19 

106 

57 

DISTRIBUTION    OF  LOBLOLLY   PINE. 


119 


111  Louisiana,  west  of  the  Mississippi  bottom^  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  Cound  frequently  scattered 
in  the  level  woods  bordering  upon  the  grassy  marshes  of  the  coast,  ^orth  of  the  region  of  the 
Loiigleaf  Pine  on  the  pine  flats  with  a  poor,  sandy,  uudraiued  soil,  between  Lake  Beaudeau  and 
Bayou  Uauohitt,  extending  to  the  Arkansas  State  line,  this  species  forms  the  principal  tree 
covering.     The  tree  is  cut  only  for  local  consumption  in  the  absence  of  means  of  transiwrtatiou. 

In  Arkansas  heavily  timbered  forests  of  Loblolly  Pine  cover  the  flat  woods  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  State  and  the  region  of  the  Tertiary  and  Post-Tertiary  formation.  The  lower  levels  in 
the  rolling  uplands  are  covered  with  heavily  timbered  forests  of  the  Loblolly  Pine.  It  forms  in  this 
State  an  important  factor  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  From  observations  made  in  the  logging 
camps  in  connection  with  the  principal  points  of  production  along  the  St.  Louis  and  Iron  Mountain 
Eailroad  south  of  Gurdon  and  on  the  St.  Louis  and  Southwestern  Railroad  it  can  be  safely  assumed 
that  about  one-half  of  the  lumber  cut  and  shipped  as  "Yellow  Pine"  to  Northern  markets  from 
southwestern  Arkansas  is  Loblolly  Pine,  the  other  half  being  Shortleaf.  The  flood  plain  of  the  Little 
Missouri  River  and  the  Ouachita  River  is  covered  with  extensive  forests  of  this  tree.  The  deep 
soil,  a  stiff  sandy  loam,  flooded  after  every  rainfall,  produces  a  heavy  and  finely  developed  timber 
growth.  Upon  one  acre,  representing  fairly  the  average  of  the  merchantable  timber  standing,  30 
trees  were  counted  of  from  12  to  48  inches  in  diameter  at  breast  high ;  of  this  number  were  found : 
One  tree  -18  inches  in  diameter  at  breast  high,  length  of  timber  estimated  at  40  feet;  one  tree  36 
inches  in  diameter  at  breast  high,  length  of  timber  estimated  at  35  feet;  three  trees  30  inches  in 
diameter  at  breast  high,  length  of  timber  estimated  at  35  feet;  seven  trees  23  inches  in  diameter 
at  breast  high,  length  of  timber  estimated  at  35  feet;  three  trees  15  inches  in,  diameter  at  breast 
high,  length  of  timber  estimated  at  35  feet;  fifteen  trees  12  to  15  inches  in  diameter  at  breast  high, 
length  of  timber  estimated  at  24  feet. 


Measurt 


•lUof  fo 


Rings  on 
stump. 

Diameter 

at  breast 

bigh. 

Heigbt  of 
tree. 

^Mr^^^'Lengtbof 
crown. 

150 
83 
110 

Inchci:. 
17 
21 
20 
22 

Feet. 

85 
105 

96 
109 

Inches. 
12 
U 
12 
12 

Feel._ 

58 
:i7 

The  timber  of  these  trees  was  almost  free  of  any  defects;  sap  from  3  to  4  inches  on  radius. 

In  Texas  this  species  is  distributed  iu  greater  or  less  abundance  to  the  south  and  southwest 
of  the  Shortleaf  Pine  region  over  an  area  exceeding  6,800  square  miles.  There  is  even  less  basis 
for  statistical  statements  i^garding  timber  standing  at  present  and  consumption  than  for  the 
Shortleaf  Pine,  since  it  is  not  even  recognized  as  a  particular  species,  and  always  cut  together 
with  the  latter,  especially  between  the  Trinity  and  tlie  Brazos  rivers.  No  data  have  lately  been 
obtained  of  the  annual  production  of  lumber  derived  from  the  Loblolly  Pine  forests  in  this  State? 
but  in  the  light  of  the  statements  of  the  Tenth  Census'  it  mu.st  contribute  largely  to  the  timber 
supplies  of  this  State.  According  to  this  authority,  the  merchantable  timber  of  Loblolly  standing 
in  18S0  was  estimated  at  20,907,(K)0,<)()0  feet,  board  measure,  and  the  cut  for  the  same  year  at 
(il.. 500,000  feet,  board  measure. 

PRODTTCT.S. 


VALUE    ANU    USES    (IF    THF,    WOOD. 

Considered  solely  as  the  source  of  furnishing  an  abundant  and  cheap  material  for  purposes 
where  strength  and  durability  are  not  the  first  considerations,  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  entitled  to 
take  its  place  among  the  timber  trees  of  the  greatest  importance.  The  average  tree  of  full  growth, 
as  it  is  generally  found  iu  the  original  forest  on  a  poorer  .soil,  furnishes  timber  with  a  fair  proportion 
of  heartwood,  with  sticks  of  from  30  to  .50  feet  and  over  in  length,  free  from  blemish,  and  generally 
in  no  way  inferior  to  the  timber  of  the  Shortleaf  and  sometimes  even  of  the  Longleaf  Pine.  In 
fact,  the  selected  lumber  of  Loblolly  classes  with  the  latter  in  many  of  the  markets  for  the  same 


'  Charles  S.  Sargent,  leiiort  of  Teuth  Ct 


Vol.  I.\,  11.541.     1884. 


120  TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

uses  by  the  house  carpenter,  while  the  interior  grades  are  largely  consumed  for  secondary 
l)urposes.  Of  late  years  the  value  of  the  lumber  even  of  lower  grades  has  beeu  much  enhanced 
by  the  process  of  kiln-drying,  now  uuiversally  introduced  into  the  mills.  After  the  removal  of 
the  water  from  the  sapwood  by  exposure  to  a  current  of  heated  air,  the  lumber  loses  its  proneness 
to  get  discolored  or  to  "blue"  by  the  rapid  development  of  the  mycelium  of  a  fungus,  and  greatly 
gains  in  its  capability  of  a  good  finish,  as  well  as  in  dm  ability,  :iiid  is  thus  rendered  suitable  for 
many  i)uri)oses  for  which,  without  such  treatment,  it  would  lie  rejected. 

The  consumption  of  Loblolly  Pine  lumber  is  constantly  on  the  increase  in  the  markets  of  the 
North,  as  the  lumber  of  the  White  Pine  becomes  scarce  and  more  expensive.  The  sappy  timber  of 
second  growth  is  every  year  coming  more  in  demand,  especially  in  foreign  markets,  where  this 
cheap  timber  is  rendered  durable  by  creosoting.  In  the  highest  state  of  perfection,  which  is  only 
attained  in  the  regions  most  favorable  to  its  development,  no  other  pine  was  deemed  of  higher 
value  or  was  more  eagerly  sought  after  for  masts  and  other  heavy  spars  of  ships.  Before  the 
use  of  iron  in  naval  construction  for  these  purposes,  the  Loblolly  Pine  timber  of  largest  size  was 
eagerly  contracted  for  iu  all  the  Southern  ports  by  every  one  of  the  maritime  powers  of  Europe. 
In  consequence,  the  trees  which  could  furnish  timber  of  the  dimensions  and  qualities  required  for 
such  purposes  have  become  exceedingly  scarce,  and  can  be  said  to  have  almost  entirely  disappeared. 

The  Eev.  M.  A.  Curtis,  in  his  account  of  the  Loblolly  Pine,'  quotes  the  following  statement  on 
the  habitat  and  the  dimensions  of  this  tree,  from  the  pen  of  Mr,  E.  RufiQn,  of  Virginia,  which, 
illustrating  a  feature  of  the  life  of  the  Southern  forest  forever  jjast,  I  can  not  refrain  from  intro- 
ducing here: 

This  (Slash  Pine)  tree  grows  only  on  low,  moist  lands,  and  is  the  better  for  timber  and  grows  larger  in  proportion 
to  the  richness  of  the  land.  Among  other  gigantic  forest  trees  on  the  rich  and  wet  Roanoke  swamps,  mostly  of  oak, 
poplar,  gum,  etc.,  the  few  pines  which  yet  remain  tower  above  all  others;  I  have  visited  several  standing  trees  and 
stumps  of  others  which  liave  beeu  cut  down  and  which  measured  5  feet  in  diameter,  and  were  supposed  to  have  been 
from  150  to  170  feet  high. 

In  evidence  of  the  dimensions  of  the  trees,  the  writer  gives  the  sizes  of  the  squared  sticks  cut 
iu  Bertie  County,  made  into  a  raft,  and  shipped  in  1850  by  way  of  the  Dismal  Swamp  Canal  to  New 
York.  These  sticks  varied  from  50  to  80  feet  in  length  by  a  mean  diameter  of  from  20  to  31  inches, 
containing  from  347  to  537  cubic  feet  each.    Remarking  further : 

All  of  these  sticks  are  nearly  all  heartwood;  thence  it  follows  that  the  proportion  of  heartwood  must  have 
heen  very  large,  the  timber  must  have  been  resinous  or  it  would  not  be  good,  and  it  must  be  durable  or  it  would  not 
serve  for  masts  and  other  long  spars  for  ships  exposed  to  the  alternations  of  wetting  and  drying,  and  for  which  only 
the  best  materials  are  permitted  to  be  used. 

The  inferior  growth  of  the  Loblolly  Pine  furnishes  vast  supplies  of  cordwood.  Immense 
quantities  are  shipped  from  the  coast  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  to  the  large  cities  on  the 
Atlantic  seaboard.  It  is  chiefly  used  where  a  brisk  flame  with  a  quick  heat  is  required,  viz,  in 
bakeries,  brickkilns,  and  the  kilns  of  potteries.  In  its  fuel  value,  the  wood  of  this  tree  ranks  with 
the  better  class  of  resinous  trees.  Large  quantities  of  the  wood  are  also  used  lor  the  burning  of 
charcoal. 

RESINOUS   PRODl'CTS. 

Regarding  the  production  of  resinous  products  from  this  pine  there  has  existed  a  wide 
divergence  of  statements.  A.  F.  Michaux  states  that  this  tree  affords  turpentine  in  abundance, 
but  of  a  less  fluidity  than  that  of  the  Longleaf  Pine,  and  suggests  that  as  it  contains  more  sapwood 
a  deeper  incision  would  yield  a  larger  product.  Eev.  M.  A.  Curtis  follows  Michaux  in  this  statement, 
and  the  writer,  relying  upon  the  information  from  operators  in  south  Alabama,  was  also  led  into 
the  error  of  supposing  this  tree  to  yield  an  abundance  of  resin  for  distilling,  similar  to  the  free- 
flowing  resin  of  the  Cuban  Pine,  and  i)ublished  a  statement  to  the  etfect  that  this  tree  was  tapped 
wherever  found.  A  trial  box  made  at  the  request  of  the  writer  seemed  to  confirm  the  opinion  as 
to  the  character  of  the  resin.  It  appears,  uow,  however,  that  the  tree  boxed  (not  inspected  by  the 
writer)  could  not  have  been  a  Loblolly,  for  lately  a  number  of  true  Loblolly  Pines,  tapped  accident- 
ally in  a  turpentine  orchard,  were  found  in  Washington  County,  Ala.,  and  showed  that  the  resin 

'M.  A.  Curtis:  Trees  and  Shrubs  of  North  Carolina,  Kalelgh,  1H60,  p.  23. 


BOTANICAL    DESCRIPTION   OF    LOBLOLLY    PINE.  121 

of  this  piue  does  uot  How  freely  aiul  bardeus  so  rapidly  on  exposure  tbat  it  cau  not  be  piofitnbly 
worked.  An  experienced  operator  at  tbe  place  confirmed  tbis  to  be  tbe  experience  everywhere 
with  this  kind  of  pine.  The  statements  regarding  tbe  use  of  tbis  tree  for  its  resinous  product  can 
therefore  only  be  explained  by  a  confusion  of  names  applied  to  the  different  pines,  and  it  was 
most  likely  tbe  Cuban  Pine  to  which  the  operators  referred.     (See  additional  notes  on  p.  133.) 

In  a  report  lately  published  by  tbe  State  geologist  of  North  Carolina  tbe  remark  is  made :  "  It 
is  said  that  the  crude  turpentine  of  the  Loblolly  Pine  has  so  much  water  in  it  that  it  yields  only 
a  poor  spirits  of  turpentine."'  This,  to  be  sure,  is  a  misconception;  but  tiie  statement  confirms 
the  fact  tbat  tbis  species  is  not  tapped  for  its  resin,  which  had  also  been  observed  by  the  writer  a 
shoit  time  previously  in  the  Loblolly  Pine  forests  of  North  Carolina  as  well  as  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia. 

From  an  extensive  series  of  analyses  of  tbe  resin  of  fresh  specimens  of  both  Longleaf  and  Loblolly 
Pine  collected  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  it  appears  that  the  wood  of  Loblolly  contains  but 
little  less  resin  than  that  of  Longleaf;  that  the  distribution  of  resin  in  the  log  is  practically  the 
same,  and,  what  seems  most  remarkable,  tbat  the  composition  of  the  resin,  as  fiir  as  tbe  relation 
of  spirits  of  turpentine  and  rosin  is  concerned,  is  nearly  tbe  same  (being  quite  variable  in  both),  so 
tbat  the  absence  office  "bleeding"  or  abundant  resin  exudation  can  not  be  due  to  a  lack  of  liquid 
oil,  but  must  be  caused  by  other  physiological  peculiarities. 

NOMENCLATURE    AND    CLASSIFICATION. 

The  Loblolly  and  half  a  dozen  other  species,  mostly  Pacific  and  INIexican,-  form  a  natural  group 
of  timber  trees  included  in  Engelmann's  Entada',  which  might  fitly  be  designated  as  the  group 
"torch  pines,"  and  can  be  characterized  as  embracing  trees,  mostly  of  larger  size,  with  more  or 
less  resinous,  coarse-grained  wood,  long  leaves  by  threes  in  a  fascicle,  and  with  lateral  cones  i)ro- 
vided  with  thick,  woody  scales  bearing  a  stout,  sharp  i)rickle.  The  distinctive  characters  of  this 
species  have  been  early  recognized  by  Plukenet,  one  of  the  earliest  writers  on  American  plants ' 
and  Linmeus  described  the  tree  under  the  name  of  Piiius  twda,*  which  was  adopted  subsequently 
by  all  botanists.  The  name  given  to  this  piue  by  Linnaeus  in  1753  has  never  been  changed.  In 
1789  Alton  established  a  variety,  F.  tcvda  a  tenuifoUa  (Hort.  Kew.,  Ill,  3G8),  which,  however,  has 
not  received  lecognition. 

BOTANICAL    DESCRIPTION    AND    MORPIIOLOCY. 

Leaves  three  in  the  close,  elonj^ated  sheath,  6  to  9  inches  long,  sleuiler,  stifi",  rigidly  pointeil,  channeled,  and 
strongly  keeled  on  the  upper  side,  of  a  pale  green  color;  cones  nearly  sessile,  single,  in  twos  or  threes,  roundish-ovate 
or  ovate  oblong,  about  .3  inches  long,  with  the  scales  hard  and  woody,  the  pyramidal  apophysis  with  a  strong, 
recurved  prickle;  seeds  small,  their  wing  an  inch  or  over  long. 

This  species  is  easily  distinguished  from  its  most  frequent  associates — the  Longleaf  and  Short- 
leaf  pines — by  its  slightly  glaucous  foliage  at  all  seasons;  by  its  more  slender  and  almost  smooth 
terminal  buds,  from  the  former;  and  from  the  latter  by  the  more  robust  shoots  and  buds;  and 
from  both  the  species  named,  and  also  from  the  Cuban  Pine,  by  its  characteristic  cones. 

ROOT,    STEM,    AXr>   BRANXH   SYSTEM. 

The  stout  taproot  of  this  pine  is  assisted  by  powerful  laterals  wliich  divide  into  numerous 
branches  and  descend  into  the  soil,  usually  at  a  short  distance  from  the  trunk ;  but  where  a  hard, 
compact  subsoil  is  encountered  tliey  are  often  seen  to  run  for  a  greater  or  less  distance  near  the 
surface.  In  the  localities  most  favorable  to  its  growtli,  the  massive  trunk  of  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  in 
its  dimensions  not  surpassed  by  any  other  pine  of  tbe  Atlantic  forest  region.  In  such  cases  the 
tree  attains  a  height  of  120  to  150  feet  and  over,  with  a  diameter  of  from  1  to  5  feet  breast  high, 
and  with  the  trunk  clear  of  limbs  for  a  length  of  from  GO  to  80  feet. 


'  The  Forests,  F'orest  Lands,  and  Forest  Products  of  Eastern  North  Carolina,  by  W.  W.  Ashe.  Bulletin  5  of  the 
Geological  Survey  of  North  Carolina,  189.5. 

-Engelniann:  Revision  of  the  Genus  Pinus.  Transactions  of  the  Academy  of  .Sciences,  8t.  Louis,  Vol.  IV,  p. 
177.     1886. 

^Plukenet:  Almagestum  botanicnm.     London.  1696.         ^ 

^Lmnaus:  Species  Plantarum,  p.  1000.     1753. 


EXLANATION  OF   PLATE   XIX. 

[Figures  natural  size,  except  when  otherwise  noted.] 

Fig.  a,  branch  boariug  male  innorescence;  h,  young  fascicle  of  lea^-es  (siiriiig);  c,  (1,  forms  of  mature  leaves; 
traosverse  section  of  leaf  buuiUe  sUowiug  structural  characters  of  the  leaf  (as  explained  for  Pinus  echinata)/,, 
magnified  20  diameters. 
122 


Bulletin  No,  13,  Division  of  Forestry. 


C.0i.«;7EWJ<r;.  rf.-C 


PiNus  T/EDA:  Male  Flowers  and  Leaves. 


BOTANICAL    DESCRIPTION    OF    LOBLOLLY    PINE.  123 

Such  trees,  however,  have  at  no  time  been  plentiful  and  at  present  are  rarely  met.  In  its 
average  growth  the  diameter  of  the  trunk,  breast  high,  measures  from  20  to  2i  inches,  and  the 
height  from  95  to  110  feet.  In  wet  places,  somewhat  distended  at  its  base,  the  trunk  tapers  very 
gradually  to  the  crown,  which  covers  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  its  height.  The  lowest  limbs 
are  horizontally  spreading,  and  toward  the  upper  part  of  the  tree  tliey  become  gradually  more  erect. 
The  largest  limbs  are  rarely  found  over  20  feet  in  length.  The  primary  branches  dividing  in  a 
regular  order  of  ramifleatiou  iuto  numerous  branches  and  branchlets,  the  crown  becomes  full  and 
compact  toward  the  top.  The  bark  of  the  full-grown  tree  is,  in  the  lower  part  of  trunk,  from  1  to 
li  inches  thick,  generally  rough,  of  a  grayish  color,  becoming  smoother,  flaky,  and  reddish  brown 
as  the  tree  grows  older. 

LEAVES. 

The  leaves  are  united,  to  the  number  of  three,  in  a  smooth,  close  sheath,  which  in  the  young 
foliage  is  about  1  inch  long  and  iu  tbe  next  season  scarcely  half  that  length.     (PI.  XIX,  c,  b,  d.) 

In  the  bushy  growth  of  less  thau  ten  years  the  leaves  are  scarcely  5  inches  in  length,  resem- 
bling closely  the  foliage  of  the  Shortleaf  Pine  of  equal  age.  Prof.  L.  Ward  notes  this  resemblance 
as  a  singular  fact,  which,  as  he  very  pointedly  remarks,  has  the  effect  of  obscuring  the  gradual 
appearance  of  this  species  among  the  young  growth  of  the  Shortleaf  Pine.'  In  the  following 
years  the  leaves  are  from  7  to  9  inches  long,  less  densely  crowded  on  the  slender  branches  than  iu 
the  Longleaf  and  Cuban  Pine;  the  foliage  is  of  a  more  open  spray,  and  persisting  to  the  third  year. 
The  leaves  are  stiff,  slightly  twisted,  roughish  on  the  finely  serrulated  edges  and  the  prominent 
midrib,  channeled  on  the  upper  side,  abruptly  tipped  by  a  rigid,  sharp  point  (PI.  XIX,  c,  d),  and 
of  a  pale  green  color.  They  are  scarcely  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  wide,  about  half  as  thick,  and 
present  in  the  cross  section  on  the  dorsal  side  a  convex  and  on  the  ventral  side  a  strongly  trian- 
gular outline.  Examined  under  the  microscope  tbey  show  on  both  surfaces  from  10  to  12  rows 
of  rather  large  breathing  pores  (stomata),  alternating  with  rows  of  numerous  hypodermal  or 
strengthening  cells,  in  several  layers.  The  cells  of  the  bundle  sheath  are  thin  walled;  the  fibro- 
vascular  bundles  are,  on  their  ventral  side,  surrounded  by  a  single  row  of  small  strengthening 
cells.  The  rather  large  resinous  ducts,  from  3  to  5  in  number,  are  peripheral,  and  placed  irregu- 
larly mostly  about  the  angles  (PI.  XIX,  c);  sometimes  smaller  ducts  are  observed  close  to  the 
bundle  sheath. 

FLOUAL    OnC.ANS. 

The  staminate  flowers  are  crowded,  from  18  to  20  in  number,  below  the  apex  of  the  youngest 
shoot.  (PI.  XIX,  a.)  They  are  from  three-fourths  to  one  inch  long,  of  sulphur-yellow  color,  and 
surrounded  at  the  base  by  from  8  to  10  ovate  to  lanceolate,  leathery,  involucral  scales;  the 
lowest  pair  is  much  shorter  thau  the  others  and  strongly  keeled;  those  of  the  uppermost  row  are 
longest,  narrow,  lanceolate,  and  retiexed.  The  anthers  are  crowned  with  an  erect  orbicular  crest. 
After  the  discharge  of  the  pollen  the  flowers  are  gradually  shed.  The  pistillate  flowers  form  au 
oblong,  erect  catkin,  borne  on  a  short  stalk,  singlj',  in  pairs,  sometimes  3  to  4,  below  the  apex  of 
the  shoot  (PI.  XX,  a)  of  the  season,  which  by  the  time  of  blooming  has  already  reached  a  length 
of  several  inches  and  is  covered  with  the  well-advanced  leaf  buds.  Including  their  stipe,  tlie 
female  aments  are  about  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  au  inch  long,  surrounded  by  from  15  to  20 
involucral  scales  similar  to  those  of  the  staminate  flower.  The  carpellary  scales  are  ovate,  lanceo- 
late, tapering  to  a  sharp,  erect,  and  somewhat  reflexed  and  twisted  point.  The  small  bracts  sub- 
tending the  scales  are  orbicular,  scarcely  covering  their  base. 

The  flowers  open,  in  the  coast  region  of  the  lower  Southern  States,  about  the  second  week  of 
March  (Mobile,  Ala.,  March  15  to  20),  and  in  the  interior  from  four  to  five  weeks  later  (Cullman, 
Ala.,  April  25). 

Immediately  after  pollination  the  female  catkins  increase  rapidly  in  size;  before  ten  days  have 
passed  the  carpellary  scales  have  doubled  in  size,  and  their  tips  become  stiffly  erect,  the  bracts 
having  remained,  stationary  in  their  growth,  and  the  fertile  shoots  having  grown  to  the  length  of 
8  inches  and  over.  This  period  passed,  the  growth  of  the  conelets  during  the  rest  of  the  season 
proceeds  very  slowly. 

'  L.  Ward :  Botanical  Gazette,  February,  1886. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  XX. 

Fig.  a,  brancli  bearinj;'  two  subterminal  aments  of  female  flowers  at  end  of  shoot  of  the  season ;  /),  immature 
cone  of  one  season's  growth;  c,  mature  closed  cone  of  two  seasons'  growth;  d,  mature  open  cone  after  shedding 
seed;  e,  cone  scale,  outer  or  dorsal  side,  showing  the  broad  umbouate  apophysis  end  with  its  sharp  transverse 
ridges  and  the  stout  reflexed  priclile;  /,  inner  or  ventral  view  of  the  same  with  the  seed  in  place;  //,  seed  and  wing 
Jetached. 

124 


Bulletin  No.  U,  Division  of  Forestry. 


■p.Oi.s^z\j>tYi^iu.  dr 


PiNus  T/tDA:  Female  Flowers,  Cone,  and  Seed. 


DESCRIPTIOX    OF    THE    WOOD    OF    LOBLOLLY    PINE.  125 

At  the  beginning  of  the  second  season  the  immature  t-ones  are  scarcely  one-half  inch  wide  and 
less  than  an  inch  long  (PI.  XX,  b),  and  from  that  time  on  increase  iu  size  and  by  the  following- 
October  have  reached  their  maturity.  The  ripe  cones  are  lateral,  almost  sessile,  broadily  conical  or 
ovate  in  shape,  rarely  over  3  inches  in  length  (PI.  XX,  c,  d),  when  fully  opened  IJ  to  2  inches  wide, 
and  of  a  light  wood  brown  color.  The  pyramidal,  swelled,  exposed  ends  (apophyses)  of  the  hard, 
woody' scales  with  a  sharp  transversal  ridge  are  armed  with  a  stout,  straight,  or  slightly  reflexed 
prickle  (PI.  XX,  e).  Having  reached  their  maturity,  the  cones  o])en  slowly,  the  seeds  being  grad- 
ually discharged  during  the  fall  and  winter  seasons.  The  cones  are  ai)t  to  remain  on  the  tree  till 
the  end  of  another  year,  and  when  they  finally  separate  from  the  branch  by  the  breaking  loose  of 
their  very  short  stalk,  leave  none  of  their  basal  scales  behind.  The  seeds  are  irregularly  truncate 
or  rhomboid  iu  outline,  inflated,  sharp-edged,  with  two  to  three  more  or  less  distinct  ridges,  rough- 
ish,  dark  brown  to  almost  black,  and  surrounded  to  the  base  by  the  narrow  border  of  their  delicate 
wing  (PI.  XX,  </,/),  which  is  over  an  inch  long  and  from  one-fourth  to  one-eighth  of  an  inch  wide. 


Among  the  pines  of  the  southern  Atlantic  forests  noted  for  their  economic  importance  the 
Loblolly  is  held  least  in  value  as  a  timber  tree.  This  opinion  is  chiefly  founded  on  the  lesser 
durability  of  its  wood,  being  more  speedily  given  to  decay  under  the  combined  influences  of 
dampness  and  air,  and  also  on  the  supposition  of  its  being  of  less  strength  than  the  other  pine 
timbers.  There  is  scarcely  a  timber  tree  existing  that  shows  wider  differences  in  the  quality 
and  value  of  the  timber.  This  is  strikingly  demonstrated  when  the  timber  of  a  tree  of  full 
ayerage  growth,  grown  on  land  broken  by  the  plow,  is  compared  with  the  timber  of  a  tree  in  its 
highest  perfection  taken  from  the  primeval  forest.  In  the  former  case  the  wood  is  coarse-grained, 
sappy,  and  quick  to  decay.  In  the  latter  it  is  finer  grained,  resinous,  has  less  sapwood,  and 
approaches  the  timber  of  the  Longleaf  Pine. 

In  general,  the  well-marked,  lighter-colored  sapwood  is  quite  broad,  and  usually  about  i  inches, 
frequently  6  inches  and  more.  It  is  wider  in  young,  thrifty  trees,  narrower  in  old  and  stunted  or 
slow-grown  timber;  forms  about  60  to  70  per  cent  of  the  total  volume  of  stems  over  one  hundred 
years  of  age,  and  SO  to  90  per  cent  of  trees  sixty  to  one  hundred  years  old.  The  formation  of 
heartwood  does  not  begin  before  the  age  of  twenty-five,  the  process  being  retarded  as  the  tree,  or 
better  the  particular  part  of  the  stem,  grows  older,  so  that  while  the  innermost  sapwood  in  a  log 
or  disk  with  twenty-six  rings  is  twenty- live  years  old,  the  innermost  sap  ring  is  thirty-five  years 
old  when  the  log  attains  the  age  of  forty-five;  it  is  forty-five  years  old  when  the  log  is  sixty-five, 
and  about  seventy  or  even  more  years  old  when  the  log  reaches  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
or  two  hundred.  It  follows  that  the  sapwood  is  formed  of  fewer  lings  in  young  trees  and  in  the 
upper  part  of  older  stems,  but  owing  to  the  greater  rapidity  of  growth  in  these  parts  the  width  of 
the  sajjwood  does  not  always  follow  this  same  law.  Since  neither  width  of  the  ring,  nor  that  of 
the  denser  summerwood,  the  thickness  of  the  cell  walls,  nor  any  other  important  structural  feature 
is  changed  when  the  wood  of  any  ring  changes  from  sap  to  heartwood,  the  prevalent  notions 
of  sapwood  being  necessarily  either  coarse  or  fine  grained,  light,  and  weak,  are  erroneous.  The 
sapwood  of  a  young,  well-grown  tree  is  coarse-grained,  heavy,  and  strong;  that  of  an  old  tree  is 
fine  grained,  light,  and  weak.  Since  durability  on  exposure  is  not  to  be  expected  of  the  sapwood 
of  any  pine,  the  prejudices  against  the  sapwood,  and  therefore  all  young  timber  of  this  particular 
kind,  are  unwarranted.  With  j)roper  treatment,  it  will  serve  all  purposes  for  which  any  pine  wood 
of  its  grain  and  weight  can  be  employed  in  finishing. 

Owing  to  the  great  amount  of  water-soaked  sapwood  the  weight  of  green  Loblolly  timber  is 
very  great,  varying  chiefly  between  50  and  55  pounds  to  the  cubic  foot,  with  the  sapwood  com- 
moidy  approaching  60  pounds  to  the  cubic  foot.  Kiln-dried,  the  wood  of  the  entire  trunk  of  trees 
one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old  weighs  about  33  pounds  per  cubic  foot.  In  such 
trees  the  wood  of  the  log  50  feet  from  the  ground  is  about  20  per  cent  lighter  (and  weaker)  than 
that  of  the, butt  log,  and  the  wood  next  to  the  bark  in  the  butt  log  is  15  to  20  per  cent  lighter  than 
the  wood  of  the  inner  fifty  to  sixty  rings. 

Iu  strength  the  wood  of  the  Loblolly  varies  chiefly  with  weight  (the  same  degree  of  seasoning 
always  presumed),  and  keeping  this  in  mind,  compares  favorably  with  that  of  any  other  conifer, 
-No.  13—02 10 


126  TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

For  well-seasoned  wood,  tbe  following  figures  represent  tlie  average  of  luindreds  of  tests  on 
specimens  specially  collected  for  this  purpose: 

Lbs.  pt-r  sq.  inch. 

Moilulus  of  elasticity 1,950,000 

Transverse  strength 10,100 

Compression  endwise ' 6,  500 

Shearing  with  the  fiber 690 

Since  the  average  weight  of  the  test  pieces  was  40  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  being  heavier  than 
the  average  weight  of  the  wood,  these  figures  must  be  taken  about  one-sixth  lower  than  given 
above  to  represent  the  true  average  for  the  wood  of  the  species. 

Like  the  wood  of  most  conifers,  that  of  Loblolly  dries  easily  and  rapidly.  In  doing  so  the 
green  lumber  loses  a  large  amount  of  water,  dependent  chiefly  on  the  proportion  of  sapwood. 
Though  quite  variable,  the  water  in  fresh  sapwood  commonly  forms  50  to  (iO  per  cent  of  the  weight, 
while  in  heartwood  it  little  exceeds  25  per  cent. 

The  shrinkage  consequent  on  drying  amounts  to  11  to  12  per  cent  of  the  volume;  is  greater  in 
the  lumber  of  the  butt  than  in  that  from  the  top  logs,  varying  in  this  respect  from  13  per  cent  at 
the  butt  to  about  10  per  cent  in  the  top,  a  difference  which  appears  due  to  the  difference  iu  the 
weight  of  the  wood  of  the  different  sections.  As  in  other  pine,  about  two  tliirds,  or  7  to  8  per 
cent,  of  this  shrinkage  falls  to  the  tangent  (i.  e.,  is  along  the  rings)  and  about  4  to  5  per  cent  to 
the  radius. 

For  kiln-drying  the  wood  may  be  taken  fresh  from  the  saw  and  behaves  extremely  well,  suftering 
no  great  injury,  a  fact  which  has  greatly  enhanced  its  value  by  facilitating  its  exploitation. 

For  the  details  of  wood  structure,  consult  the  comparative  study  by  Mr.  Roth  appended  to 
these  monographs. 

PROGRESS    OF    DEVELOPMENT. 

The  crops  of  seed  are  produced  quite  abundantly  every  year  and  copiously  dispersed  over  the 
vicinity  of  the  mother  trees  by  the  wind;  the  offspring  quickly  takes  possession  of  old  fields  and 
clearings  in  the  forest. 

The  seeds  germinate  in  the  early  spring.  The  ends  of  the  cotyledons  remain  for  a  short  time 
after  germination  inclosed  in  the  endosperm.  The  number  of  the  germinal  leaves  (cotyledons)  is 
mostly  six,  rarely  seven.  At  the  time  of  the  unfolding  of  the  cotyledons  the  lower  (hypocotyle- 
donary)  part  of  the  axis  of  the  plant  is  about  1  inch  in  length.  The  rootlets  are  half  that  length, 
and  are  provided  with  several  acropetal  secondary  rootlets.  The  caulicle  grows  rapidly,  and  is 
soon  covered  with  the  stiff,  needle-shaped,  and  strongly  serrulated  primary  leaves.  Before  the 
spring  season  has  jiassed  the  bundles  of  secondary  or  foliage  leaves  make  their  appearance  in 
the  axils  of  the  former.  At  the  close  of  the  summer  season  the  plantlet  has  attained  a  height  of 
from  6  to  8  inches,  the  upper  part  of  the  stem  covered  with  foliage  leaves,  the  acerose  primary 
leaves  of  the  lower  part  having  completely  withered.  In  examining  a  large  number  of  young 
plants  never  less  than  three  leaves  in  a  bundle  have  been  found  during  this  or  any  subsequent 
stage  of  the  growth.  With  the  second  year  the  primary  leaves  have  all  become  reduced  to  the 
ordinary  form  of  the  leaf  bract— lanceolate,  acuminate,  with  fimbriate  white  hyaline  edges  and  tips. 

In  all  the  specimens  examined  it  was  found  that  the  growth  of  the  main  axis  proceeded  less 
rapidly  during  the  second  season,  but  produced  a  regular  whorl  of  from  three  to  four  lateral  axes. 
At  the  close  of  the  second  year  the  main  stem  rarely  exceeds  10  inches  in  height. 

At  the  end  of  their  third  year  the  plants  are  from  18  to  20  inches  high,  the  stem  being  from 
one-fourth  to  five-sixteenths  of  an  inch  iu  thickness.  The  branches,  forming  regular  whorls,  are 
erect  and  produce  iu  their  turn  whorls  of  secondary  order.  The  root  system  shows  a  correspond- 
ing increase,  the  taproot  being  from  (i  to  IS  inches  long,  with  numerous  stout  lateral  roots. 

RATE    OF    GROWTH. 

With  the  fourth  year  the  Loblolly  Pine  enters  seemingly  upon  the  period  of  quickest  growth. 
As  ascertained  by  many  measurements,  the  trees  at  the  end  of  their  fourth  year  average  3  feet  in 
height  and  from  one-half  to  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  year 
measure  nearly  5  feet  and  from  1  to  1^  inches  in  diameter.     At  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  year 


EARLY    GROWTH    OF    LOBLOLLY    PINE. 


127 


the  tree  attains  a  height  of  10  feet,  and  with  the  close  of  the  first  decade  trees  are  fouud  12  to  16 
feet  high  aud  from  -f  to  3  inches  in  diameter.  Some  trees  begin  to  mature  their  first  cones  by  the 
tenth  year. 

Tlie  above  measureinents  were  made  in  1890  in  the  vicinity  of  Cullman,  Ala.,  on  trees  taken 
indiscriminately  from  the  midst  and  near  the  border  of  a  dense  pine  thicket  covering  a  field  xjlowed 
for  the  last  time  in  188:3,  and  from  an  adjoining  opening  in  the  forest  protected  from  fire  aud  but 
rarely  used  for  pasture. 

According  to  a  number  of  measurements  made  of  trees  in  the  southern  Atlantic  States,  the 
Gulf  region,  and  southern  Arkansas,  the  Loblolly  Pine  reaches  at  the  tenth  year,  on  the  average, 
a  height  of  20  feet,  doubling  this  height  during  the  succeeding  decade.  During  this  period  of 
quickest  growth  the  increase  in  height  proceeds  at  the  rate  of  2  feet  per  annum,  and  trees  twenty 
years  old  average  4§  inches  in  diameter  breast  high.  At  the  age  of  fifty  years  the  trees  are  from 
05  to  75  feet  in  height  (average  about  70  feet)  and  1.5  inches  in  diameter  breast  high.  The  annual 
increase  for  this  period  of  thirty  years  is  about  1  foot  in  height  and  0.35  inch  in  diameter.  From 
numerous  observations  it  appears  that  the  Loblolly  Pine  attains  the  fullness  of  its  growth  at  the 
age  of  one  hundred  years,  with  a  height,  on  the  average,  of  110  feet  aud  a  diameter  breast  high 
of  2  feet,  the  length  of  merchantable  timber  varying  between  50  and  CO  feet.  The  annual  rate  of 
height  growth  during  the  second  half  century  is  about  eight-tenths  of  a  foot,  and  the  diameter 
growth  eighteen  one  hundredths  of  an  inch.  Henceforth  the  growth  in  height  remains  almost 
stationary.  A  dozen  trees  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  aud  fifty  years  old  were  found  to 
vary  from  99  to  125  feet  in  height,  with  a  length  of  trunk  free  from  limbs  of  from  GO  to  G8  feet  and 
from  19  to  27  inches  in  diameter  at  breast  height. 

From  the  annexed  tabulated  records  of  growth  it  becomes  evident  that  under  similar  conditions 
of  soil  and  exposure  the  rate  of  increase  for  the  various  stages  of  growth  show  but  slight  differences 
in  localities  widely  distant  from  each  other. 

Table  I.—Cronlh  fromjive  tofiftijijnirs. 


Xo.  of  tree. 

No.  of 
rings. 

Diameter 
(breast  l,igh). 

first  limb. 

Total 
height. 

Locality. 

Kemarks. 

5 

5 

\ 

7 
9 
9 
10 
11 
12 
12 
12 
13 
13 
14 
14 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
20 
21 
26 
22 
22 
24 
24 

32 
35 

48 
44 

Inches. 

2 
Ii 

2 
3 

2 

P 

f 

\ 

6 
6 
4 
4 

P 

6 

6 

12 

3^ 

Feel. 

Feet. 

10 
7 

12 

iP 

23 
20 

24 
21 
19 
20 
25 
21 

30 
39 

45 
33 
43 
55 
39 
47 

56 

77 

66 

CuUman,  Ala... 

Clearing  ma<le  for  pasture  in  1879 ;  dense  pine  thicket. 

Do.' 
Do. 

Edge  of  swampy  lii,u„„ook. 
Clearing,  dense-pine  thicket. 

Do! 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 
Edge  of  hummock. 
Openfore.st.  expus,,,.-  IVe.-. 

Do. 
Edgeoilin    ,  ,   .  :      -i  J                                      iix  ./overed. 

Op?ni„^i.    : 

Openin-  ,.•  :..i-  ■     ■  ■]■■■ 

«"T.o"."""" ■ - ' 

Natural  opening  near  swamp;  ao,l  damp. 

Nau"!™!  opening  i,i  f,„  .-sl .  un.lei-  tovcr. 

Nat!!r!Ii!!l"!""' '"  •!': "'  -npiMl'^spd!""' 

Oldfl.'M     !■             '      1-    ■- 

pidfieM,,.:. 

?''"'"'"''               '„,'nn''!n.!'"'' 

1  II  ll  loa,n;  fresh,  young  forest  trees  of  s, 

I'liU   „..,,■  l..ii,ks  of  Tensa-s  River;  opeu  forest;  exposure 
March  16,  l«88„jn8t  paat  flowering. 

do  : 

Whistler,  Ala... 
CuUraan.Ala... 

do 

i- 

:::::do  :::::;;;;: 

if 

13 
13 
10 
8 
7 
12 
13 
16 
17 
28 
22 
28 
32 

f7 
30 
.38 
36 
51 

30 
33 

do 

Whistler,  Ala... 
Gurdon.Ark.... 
Eastman,  Ga.... 
Whistler,  Ala... 
Eaatman.Ga.... 
Gurdon.Ark.... 
Whistler,  Ala... 

M?:::::.::::: 

222 

!!]!!do  .!-iiJi.l. 

..  do 

Eaatman.Ga.... 
Gurdon.Ark.... 
Eastman,  Ga.... 

146 

Gurdon.Ark.... 

do 

do 

"06 

Eastman,  Ga.-. 

Gurdon.Ark 

Stockton,  Ala-  - . 

uilar 

free; 

128 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 
Tablk  Il.—Groiilh  of  Loblolly  Pine  (I'iiius  taila)  from  fiftij  to  one  hundred  and  fiftij-six  yean. 


Rings 

in 
etnmp. 

Diameter 

Height 
*?ir 

her). 

Total 
height. 

Locality. 

Ko.  of  tree. 

Breast 
high. 

Across 
stump. 

Below 
crown. 

Habitat  and  nther  remarks. 

300 

C3 

70 

73 

74 
80 
80 
83 
85 
87 
90 
95 
100 

101 

110 

li- 
ne 

120 
128 
137 
142 
150 

156 

Inches. 
14 

10 

22 

12 
21 
18 
20 
17 
21 
22 
19 
27 

22 
22 
19 
22 

19 
27 
21 

24 

Inches. 
13J 

Inches. 
»4 

n 

Feet. 
54 

57 

50 

11 

f: 

47 
40 
40 
53 
50 

51 

68 
69 
53 
68 
59 
57 
54 
58 

39 

JFeet. 
90 

86 

94 

80 
101 
103 
96 
88 
105 
104 
112 
118 

111 

109 
116 
125 
99 
109 
115 
103 
108 

103 

Ridgel.ina,S.€..- 

Eastman.Ga 

do 

Ridgeland, S. C  ... 

Cullman,  Ala 

Kidgcland,  .S. C  ... 
Gurdon.Ark 

"whistieriAia;:::: 

Cullman,  Ala 

Ridralaud.S.C... 

Whistler,  Ala 

ia-tseJ^:::::: 

Whistler,  Ala 

Eastman,  Ga 

Whistler,  Ala 

Cullman,  Ala 

do 

Gurdon,Ark 

Cullman,  Ala 

Low  pine  barrens,   edge  of  hummock,   soil  damp,  ex- 

posure free. 
Old  Held,  abandoned  one  hundred  years  ago;  typical  for 

oldest  second  growth. 
Close  to  edge  of  awamii;  open  forest;  soil  wet;   exjio- 

2G1 

302 

24 

299 

141 

139 

1 
20 
15J 

■■■■■§ 

sureiree;  s:ir<^""il  ''  i"'l""= 
Close  to  edgeolsvini;,    -,.!„,.  i,;ii  suppressed. 
Swampy  swale    .1                            H-i,,.!lree. 
Swampy  l.umi,M.i;          ;,-::       , .  , ; ,  ,;,lly  free. 
Low,  wel,  i.iiiv    ■. 1  irtially  free. 

Low,  w.-t    ,,•,>■     ■■     .  .i        .;,:,,    Iree. 

Wet'sv .        1.   ..      .  ,.  :    !.:-v,i,  free. 

300 

2')7 

22 
21 
18 
224 
224 

12 
18} 

18 

Edgcii                                  ,.  ,     -.1;  sjipwood  5  inches. 
Low,  iiiii,    i..ii!.h^     ...I    (i,,:ii].     iirar  swamp;  exposure 

21C 

142 

Open  forest,  ou  slight  decline;  .soil  drained;  fresh;  ex- 
posure free;  sapwood44  inches. 
Low,  rather  dense  forest;  wet;  exposure  free. 
Fdge  of  .sw;,ii,,,    s,.il  d;.nii,;  ,.arli;i^l.v  sM,.|,ie8sed. 

215 

2li.> 

214 

Slight  .Ir-rli-.itv     -nil  v-.ll  ,Irnn.Ml     .„,,,,rr..ert. 
NeSrI -. --l.hM ■,«..„,,.  tree. 

Ocelli::.''  .  :"L" ■  ,•.'  r::," '"',. 

286 

■"■'isj' 

E(iKe  cil  --V  rn,|.    ,,  iii,|.  to  .■  .  1     .■.]„,. Ill,    ill, i,,^t  free 

Flat,   wel,    lalliel    .l.n^e   lule.-l  ;   e.xli..MUe   llee;   sHghtlv 

oppressed  on  Ihe  sides. 

From  Table  III  aud  tlie  correspondiug  diagram,  based  upon  a  considerable  number  of  trees,  it 
appears  tbat  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  nearly  -10  feet  high  when  twenty  years  old ;  that  the  length  of  the 
merchantable  timber  (00  feet)  is  attained  at  the  age  of  forty;  that  this  shaft  has  a  basal  diameter 
6t'  20  inches  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  years,  and  that  the  age  of  thrifty  growth  is  practically  at 
an  end  when  the  tree  is  one  hundred  and  ten  years  old.  Comparing  th's  table  with  those  for 
Longleaf  and  Shortleaf  pines,  the  excellence  of  the  Loblolly  becomes  apparent. 


GROWTH    AND    DEVELOPMENT    OP    LOBLOLLY    PINE. 

T.uiLE  UI.—I!ale  of  yrowth  of  Loblolly  Pine. 


129 


Bia^eter 

Length  of 
log  with 

5  inches. 

Total 
heightof 

Volume. 

Periodical  accretion  or  growth  per  decade. 

Average 
annual 
accretion 

Age. 

high). 

Tree. 

^5?nc"hC 
diameter. 

Decade. '           '  Diameter. 

Height. 

Area  of 

cross  sec. 

tion. 

Volume. 

Current 
accretion. 

Tri. 

Inchei. 
3.4 
5.6 
7.8 
10.0 
11.8 
13.3 
l.i.5 
17.1 
18.7 
19.5 
20.2 
20.7 

Feet. 

Feet. 
18 
37 
50 

?J 
78 
89 

95 
98 
100 
102 

0.60 
3.05 
8.72 
16.63 
25.30 
35.65 
49.02 
62.44 
78.02 
89.41 
96.00 
102.00 

Cu./t. 

Inches. 
^     •    2.4 

Feet. 

13 
19 

11 

-a 

.17 
.19 
.19 
.21 
.21 
.19 
.10 
.13 
.10 

2.45 

5.67 
7.91 
8.67 
10.35 
13.37 
13.42 
15.58 

6^59 
U.OO 

.14 

.29 

[57 
.69 
.70 
.78 
.87 

is? 

.85 

^"•{'-06 

•  30 

50 
UO 

23 
35 
44 
52 
60 

?! 
80 
83 
85 

l/.'45 
24.12 

47:88 
61.44 
77.16 
88.59 
95.23 
101.23 

TliinI 

Foiiitli 

Fillii 

Sixth 

2.2 
2.0 
1.8 
1.6 

i;! 

.9 
'.5 

.57 

!87 
1.03 

I'.U 
1.56 
1.14 
.66 
.60 

100 

Tenth 

CONDITIONS    OF    DEVELOP:\IENT. 


The  Loblolly  Piiie  prefers  a  moist,  cool,  sandy  or  light  loamy  soil,  wbicli,  it' not  always  moist, 
should  have  a  greater  retentiveiiess  for  moisture  than  is  required  by  most  of  the  other  upland 
pines.  It  reaches  its  greatest  perfection  in  the  perpetually  moist  or  fresh  forest  lands,  with  a  soil 
of  a  sandy  loam,  rich  iu  vegetable  mold — the  accumulation  of  ages — which  border  the  swamps 
of  the  coast  region.  The  tree  is  not  found  on  the  porous,  highly  siliceous  soils  of  the  more 
elevated  uplands,  where  the  Lougleaf  Pine  almost  exclusively  prevails;  it  also  avoids  heavy  clay 
and  calcareous  soils  of  the  uplands  and  the  alluvial  lauds. 

The  Loblolly  Pine  is  a  tree  of  austral  regions  confined  to  the  humid  belt  of  the  Austroripariau 
or  Louisiana  zone  and  the  lower  border  of  the  Carolinian  life  zone,  which,  on  the  Atlantic  Coast, 


130  TIMBER   PINES   OF   THE    SOUTHERN   UNITED   STATES. 

follows  quite  closely  the  isothermal  line  of  50°  F.;  westward,  in  tbe  direction  of  the  Gulf  Coast, 
the  isothermal  line  of  60^.  The  meau  temperature  of  the  winter  along  the  northern  limit  is  about 
45°,  with  the  lowest  temperature  only  occasionally  falling  below  lO"^  F.  This  tree  approaches 
the  Appalachian  zone  only  under  the  influence  of  a  peninsular  clime  between  the  Delaware  and 
Chesapeake  bays. 

Tlie  Loblolly  appears  to  be  indifferent  to  the  wide  differences  in  the  amount  of  atmospheric 
precipitation  existing  within  the  vast  range  of  its  distribution.  Extending  from  Florida  (isotherm, 
74^)  to  the  39=  of  north  latitude  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  (isotherm,  50°),  it  is  found  of  equal  thrift 
on  the  Gulf  shore,  with  its  damp  air  and  annual  rainfall  exceeding  64  inches,  and  in  the  flat  woods 
of  Texas,  where  the  mean  annual  precipitation  is  only  one-half  that  amount,  with  a  mean  of  6 
inches  during  the  winter  months.  In  fact,  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  found  most  frequently  and  is  more 
widely  distributed  in  the  districts  of  lesser  precipitation.  It  is  certainly  more  dependent  on  the 
supplies  of  soil  moisture  than  upon  atmospheric  humidity. 

RELATION   TO   LIGHT   AND   ASSOCIATED   SPECIES. 

This  species  is  less  exacting  in  its  demands  for  direct  sunlight  than  the  kindred  species  within 
its  range.  To  this  relation  may  be  ascribed  the  success  which  it  achieves  in  the  struggle  for  the 
possession  of  the  soil  with  the  Shortleaf  Pine.  Observing  this  contest  as  it  is  going  on  between 
the  competing  species  in  the  forest,  the  conditions  of  the  soil  being  equally  favorable,  the  Loblolly 
Pine,  under  the  cover  of  shade,  outstrips  the  Shortleaf  Pine  under  the  same  conditions;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  where  the  sunlight  has  had  unhindered  access,  it  gives  way  to  its  competitor, 
being  then  subjected  to  the  disadvantage  resulting  from  a  speedier  desiccation  of  the  soil. 
Through  such  influences  it  is  that,  under  conditions  seemingly  equally  favorable  to  either  one  of 
these  pines,  now  the  one  and  now  the  other  is  found  to  predominate. 

In  the  deep  forests  covering  the  rich  swampy  lands  of  the  coast  regions,  the  Loblolly  Pine 
forms  comparatively  a  small  part  of  the  rich  and  varied  growth  consisting  chiefly  of  deciduous 
trees,  Black  Gum,  Sweet  or  Red  Gum,  Water  Oak,  and  Mockernut,  to  which  in  the  lower  South  the 
Magnolia,  Sweet  Bay,  Red  Bay,  and  Cuban  Pine  are  to  be  added.  Although  requiring  less  sunlight 
than  most  pines,  in  the  gloomy  impenetrable  shade  of  these  den.se  forests  the  progeny  of  the 
Loblolly  Pine  has  no  future,  especially  as  these  lands  once  cleared  are  devoted  to  tillage,  being  of 
great  agricultural  value. 

On  the  lands  of  a  poorer,  more  exposed  soil  in  the  maritime  plain  of  the  southern  Atlantic 
States,  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  and  in  southwestern  Texas,  this  pine  forms  more  or  less 
compact  forests.  In  these  forests  the  tree  is  always  succeeded  by  its  own  progeny,  either  in  the 
course  of  nature  or  after  the  artificial  removal  of  the  original  forest  growth.  On  the  coast  of 
Georgia,  in  Florida,  and  in  the  coast  plain  of  the  eastern  Gulf  States,  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  scattered 
among  the  Cuban  and  the  Lougleaf  Pine;  there  its  second  growth  meets  a  formidable  competitor 
in  the  first  named  of  these  species.  In  the  flat  woods,  deprived  of  drainage,  the  Cuban  Pine  is 
always  found  to  vastly  outnumber  the  Loblolly  among  the  young  forest  growth.  In  the  upper  part 
of  the  great  maritime  pine  belt  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  frequently  found  among  the  mixed  growth  of 
Magnolia,  Spanish,  Red,  Post,  and  Blackjack  oaks,  Mockernut  and  Pignut  Hickory,  Shortleaf 
Pine,  and  Southern  Spruce  Pine.  Throughout  this  region  the  tree  takes  almost  undisputed 
possession  of  the  old  fields. 

In  the  interior,  on  the  uplands  of  oaks  and  Shortleaf  Pine,  tbe  Loblolly  is  sure  to  gain  the 
upper  hand  and  to  retain  its  hold  among  the  young  forest  growth,  giving  way  to  its  most  aggressive 
competitor,  the  Shortleaf  Pine,  only  wiien  under  the  disadvantage  of  a  greater  exposure  and  a 
greater  lack  of  moisture  in  the  soil. 

ENEMIES. 

Principally  confined  to  low,  damp  localities,  not  easily  liable  to  invasion  by  the  frequent 
conflagrations  which  scour  the  Southern  pine  forests,  the  Loblolly  Pine  suffers  less  from  destruction 
by  fire  than  any  other  species.  In  virtue  of  the  inherent  facilities  foi-  its  natural  renewal  resulting 
from  its  fecundity  and  from  the  rapidity  of  its  development  from  the  earliest  stages  of  growth, 
any  damages  inflicted  by  that  agency  are  more  easily  repaired.    The  same  causes  afford  it  also 


ENEMIES    OF    LOBLOLLY    PINE.  131 

greater  protection  against  incursions  of  live  stock.  As  also  observed  in  tbe  Shortleaf  Pine,  the 
lapidly  growing  seedlings  forin,  after  a  few  years,  thickets  of  such  density  as  to  be  avoided  by 
the  larger  quadrupeds,  and  by  the  time  such  thickets,  in  the  course  of  natural  thinning  out 
have  become  more  open,  the  trees  have  reached  dimensions  which  place  them  beyond  the  danger 
of  being  tramped  down  or  otherwise  injured  by  live  stock.  The  rapid  spread  and  thrift  of  the 
second  growth,  unprotected  and  uucared  for,  observed  everywhere  within  the  range  of  the 
distribution  of  this  pine,  are  witnesses  to  its  greater  immunity  from  such  dangers. 

Owing  to  the  large  amount  of  sapwood,  the  timber  of  the  Loblolly  is  more  liable  to  the  attacks 
of  fungi  and  to  the  ravages  of  insects.  The  mycelium  (spawn)  of  large  polyporous  fungi  is  found 
frequently  infesting  the  woody  tissue  of  the  living  tree,  the  hypha;  (filaments)  of  the  spawn 
destroying  the  walls  of  the  wood  cells,  causing  the  weod  to  assume  a  reddish  color  and  rendering 
it  brittle  in  the  same  way  as  is  observed  in  tlie  living  Longleaf  Pine  timber  affected  with  the  disease 
called  "red  heart."  It  seems  that  the  destruction  caused  by  this  disease  in  the  Loblolly  Pine  is 
from  the  start  more  rapid  in  consequence  of  the  larger  proportions  of  sapwood,  and  perhaps  also 
on  account  of  the  broader  bands  of  soft  springwood  naturally  accompanying  wood  of  rapid  growth. 

In  a  piece  of  wood  examined  in  north  Alabama,  the  filaments  of  the  spawn  of  one  of  these 
fungi  crossing  each  other  in  every  direction  were  found  to  form  a  dense  film  interposed  between 
the  sprifig  and  summer  wood,  causing  its  easy  separation  in  the  direction  of  the  concentric  rings, 
and,  as  the  destruction  of  the  wood  proceeds,  forming  finally  a  compact  layer  of  the  nature  of 
amadou,  or  tinder.  In  the  longitudinal  section  the  rays  were  found  full  of  cavities,  caused  by  the 
breaking  down  of  the  cell  walls,  and  these. cavities  were  filled  with  the  white  film  of  these 
filaments,  which  similarly  affected  the  adjoining  tracheids  of  the  resinous  suramerwood. 

The  felled  timber  left  on  the  ground  is  soon  infested  by  a  host  of  fungi  of  the  genera 
Agaricus,  Trametes,  Lentinus,  Polyporus,  and  others,  the  nearer  identification  of  which  has  not 
been  undertaken. 

From  the  very  limited  observations  that  have  been  made  it  clearly  appears  that  this  pine 
suffers  equally  as  much,  if  not  more  than  the  other  pines  of  Southern  growth  from  insect  enemies 
of  various  kinds.  The  larv?e  of  the  same  Capricorn  beetles  (Cerambyciihv)  burrow  in  the  body  of 
the  timber.  Those  of  the  round-headed  borers  {Chalcophora)  dig  their  channels  in  the  sapwood, 
as  is  indicated  by  the  occurrence  of  several  species  of  jumping  beetles  {Jiuprcstiikv)  which  are 
found  clinging  to  the  leaves  and  branches  of  this  tree.  The  most  fatal  injury  it  sustains  is  caused 
by  the  bark  borers  (Tomkidw);  this  pest  particularly  affecting  the  trees  during  the  formation  of 
the  last  cambium  layer  in  the  later  summer  months.  Trees  felled  in  August  are  immediately 
infested  by  multitudes  of  these  destroyers.  Favored  by  a  high  temperature  and  an  abundance 
of  nourishment,  several  generations  of  them  succeed  each  other  before  the  close  of  the  season, 
the  countless  broods  soon  infesting  every  tree  in  the  vicinity  and  carrying  their  work  of  destruc- 
tion over  the  full  expanse  of  the  young  forest  growth.  Under  this  affliction  the  forests  often 
present,  by  their  drooping  rusty-colored  foliage,  a  sad  picture  of  disease  and  decay.  Weevils 
{Gurculionida)  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  youngest  tender  shoots;  the  larva;  which  hatch  from 
them  eat  their  way  into  these  shoots,  causing  their  decay,  and  thus  destroy  the  symmetry  of  the 
tree  and  impair  the  usefulness  of  the  resulting  timber.  Other  species  of  the  same  family  puncture 
the  older  branches,  lay  their  eggs  in  the  exuded  resin,  their  larvre  injuring  the  tree  in  a  similar 
way.  The  larv;e  of  spittle  insects  injure  the  terminal  buds,  which  are  also  found  infested  by  the 
larvae  of  pitch  moths  (Uctin'm),  causing  them  to  wither.  The  foliage  seems  to  be  less  frequently 
attacked  by  sawtiies  {Lopht/rus)  than  the  tender  young  leaves  of  the  Longleaf  Pine,  as  by  the 
lapidity  of  their  growth  the  young  leaves  sooner  harden,  and  are  therefore  less  relished  by  these 
depredators.  The  evidences  of  the  work  of  the  pine-leaf  miners  (caterpillar  of  Gelechia)  have 
been  frequently  observed  in  Alabama,  and  everj'where  are  seen  the  deformities  caused  by  gall 
flies  and  scale  insects. 

NATURAL   REPRODUCTION. 

If  the  Shortleaf  Pine  has  been  spoken  of  emphatically  as  the  future  timber  tree  of  the  light 
rolling  uplands  of  the  interior,  the  Loblolly  Pine  might  be  fitly  designated  as  the  timber  tree  of 
greatest  promise  in  a  large  part  of  the  coast  plain  from  the  middle  Atlantic  States  to  the  limits  of 
compact  forest  growth  beyond  the  Mississippi  Kiver.    The  promptness  with  which  it  colonizes  the 


132  TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

old  fields  aud  other  clearings,  and  the  tenacity  with  which  it  retains  from  one  generation  to  another 
the  ground  once  taken  possession  of,  clearly  point  to  the  important  part  this  tree  is  to  take  when  the 
ruthless  stripping  of  timber  lands  practiced  at  present  gives  place  to  the  management  of  the  forests 
under  a  system  of  fostering  care,  tending  to  their  future  maintenance  and  to  the  disposal  of  their 
resources  on  the  principle  of  true  economy  with  an  eye  to  the  future  welfare  of  the  country. 
No  timber  tree  will  be  found  better  adapted  for  forest  planting  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
Atlantic  forest  division.  It  is  only  in  the  narrow  belt  of  flat  woods  along  the  shores  of  Florida, 
Georgia,  and  the  eastern  Gulf  region  that  is  likely  to  tind  its  sui)erior  in  the  Cuban  Pine  (Pintoi 
heterophylla). 

Besides  the  advantages  of  adaptability  to  varied  soil  and  climate,  it  excels  in  rapidity  of 
growth  during  the  earliest  stages,  and  the  copious  production  of  seeds,  which,  almost  without  fail, 
are  plentifully  distributed  every  year  over  the  vicinity  of  the  parent  trees.  As  an  evidence  of  the 
facility  with  which  the  reproduction  of  a  compact  forest  by  this  pine  is  effected,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  point  out  the  spontaneous  groves  near  the  settlements,  representing,  as  they  do,  every  stage  of 
development. 

In  the  coast  region  the  second  growth,  if  not  interferred  with,  under  proper  soil  conditions, 
yields  in  fifty  to  sixty  years  timber  of  dimensions  rendering  it  fit  to  be  sawn  into  lumber  well 
adapted  for  various  uses,  as  already  mentioned.  •• 

CONCLUSION. 

In  this  attempt  at  a  sketch  of  the  life  history  of  this  tree,  the  object  was  constantly  kept  in 
view  of  placing  its  value  among  the  products  of  the  Southern  forests  in  the  proper  light.  From 
the  consideration  of  the  structure  of  the  wood  and  its  physical  properties  it  clearly  appears  that 
although  inferior  to  the  wood  of  the  Longleaf  aud  Cuban  pines,  the  timber  of  this  species  fully 
equals  that  of  Shortleaf  Pine,  and  that  tlie  present  practice  of  treating  them  as  equivalent  seems 
therefore  justified. 

As  an  abundant  and  cheap  source  of  timber  of  inferior  grades,  and  especially  when  the 
rapidity  of  its  growth  is  considered,  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  of  no  less  economic  inijiortaiice  than  the 
other  timber  trees  of  the  same  section.  At  present  held  in  low  esteem  in  the  great  lumbering 
districts  of  the  lower  South,  where  the  supplies  of  the  superior  timber  of  the  Longleaf  Pine  still 
abound  aud  receive  the  preference,  the  value  of  the  timber  of  the  Loblolly  Pine  is  quickly  recog- 
nized in  other  districts  which,  but  a  short  while  ago  boasting  of  similar  resources,  are  now  stripped 
of  them.  Its  lihysiological  peculiarities  make  it  an  important  factor  in  the  future  forestry  of  this 
section.  Its  propagation  is  successful  over  a  vast  expanse  in  the  southern  section  of  the  Atlantic 
forest  region,  and  by  its  productive  capacities,  mode  of  development,  and  behavior  toward  com- 
peting species  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  the  Loblolly  Pine  possesses  great  advantages  for  its 
natural  and  artificial  renewal,  adapting  it  particularly  for  the  restoration  of  the  forests  on  the 
lowlands  of  the  maritime  region. 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES  ON  LOBLOLLY  PINE. 

By  FiLiBERT  Roth. 
(September  1,  1897.) 

Where  Loblolly  is  the  great  timber  tree  of  the  woods,  and  often  by  itself  covers  many  miles  of 
land,  in  the  northeast  part  of  North  Carolina,  this  tree  is  universally  known  as  "  Shortleaf  Pine." 
Many  people  employ  special  names  for  young  growth  or  saplings  of  unusual  development,  espe- 
cially where  the  connection  between  the  mature  tree  and  the  sapling  is  not  quite  clear  to  them. 
In  Florida  the  tree  is  often  little  known,  and  is  usually  grouped  with  Pond  Pine  as  "  Loblolly."  In 
Texas  the  name  "Bastard"  pine  is  frequently  employed,  implying  a  belief  that  this  is  a  hybrid 
between  the  Longleaf  and  Shortleaf  pines. 

In  the  large  forests  of  North  Carolina,  east  of  the  Wilmington  and  Weldon  Railroad,  where 
this  tree  seems  at  its  best,  and  where  it  furnishes  80  to  85  per  cent  of  the  North  Carolina  pine  of  the 
market,  it  is  always  a  fast  grower  and  a  heavy  bearer.  At  its  southern  limits  in  the  peninsula  of 
Florida  the  species  occurs  only  in  hammock  lands  and  similar  sites,  where  it  nevertheless  still 
makes  large  trees. 

Saplings  10  to  15  feet  high  along  the  edges  of  clearings  are  often  laden  with  cones  and  rapidly 
seed  the  open  ground  for  many  rods  about.  In  this  old  settled  region,  where  the  danger  from 
fire  is  limited,  dense  groves  of  saplings  are  met  on  every  hand  and  millions  of  feet  of  lumber  are 
to  day  cut  from  laud  where  the  corn  rows  are  still  apparent.  It  is  probably  fair  to  say  that  the 
average  lumber-size  tree  of  this  region  is  not  over  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  old,  and 
thousands  of  them  are  less  than  eighty  years.  Numerous  tracts  are  now  cut  for  the  secoTid  time 
in  thirty  years,  a  fact  which  has  misled  many  men  to  enunciate  the  absurd  statement  that  this 
pine  required  only  fifteen  to  thirty  years  to  grow  to  merchantable  size.  Generally  the  logging  is 
not  clean,  and  in  most  cases  a  fine  lot  of  pole  trees  is  left  8  to  12  inches  in  diameter,  requiring 
only  a  further  increase  of  4  to  8  inches  to  become  of  lumber  size. 

In  the  North  Carolina  district  (including  southeast  Virginia)  this  pine  is  distinctly  a  "sap 
pine,"  more  than  70  per  cent  of  the  wood  being  sapwood.  In  logging  the  stem  is  cut  into  standard 
sizes,  the  top  is  entirely  rejected,  and  the  logs  are  rafted  or  else  hauled  to  the  mill  by  railway  It  is 
usually  sawn  with  band  saws,  almost  exclusively  into  boards  1.1  inches  or  less,  and  at  once  dried 
in  dry  kilns  at  temperatures  of  KJO"  to  180°  F.  Equipment  and  method  as  well  as  the  product 
turned  out  by  the  larger  establishments  of  this  district  are  unexcelled  iu  the  manufacture  of 
lumber  in  this  country. 

Close  to  the  principal  markets,  ou  cheap  land,  and  stocked  with  the  fastest-growing  and  best 
reproducing  pine  in  this  country,  these  forests  have  a  very  bright  future.  With  a  reasonable 
amount  of  care,  well-paying  pine  forests,  yielding  30,000  to  50,000  feet  of  good  pine  per  acre  in 
one  hundred  years  may  be  established  here. 

133 


THE  SPRUCE  PINE. 

(PINUS    GLABRA    Walt.) 


Historical. 

Distribution. 

Economic  Importance. 

Botanical  Description. 

Progress  of  Development. 

Enemies. 

Eequirements  of  Development. 


THE    SF»RUCE    F»IME. 


Syuonyms:  Piiiua  glabra  Walter,  Fl.  Caroliniana,  237  (1788). 
Pintis  mitis  /3  ^ paupera  Wood,  CI.  Book,  660  (1869). 

COMMON  OR  LOCAL  NAMES. 

Spruce  Pine  (.S.  C,  Ala.,  Fla.).  Walter's  Pine  (S.  C). 

Cedar  Pine  (Miss.).  Lowland  Spruce  Pine  fFla.). 

White  Pine  (Fla.).  Poor  Pine  (Fla.). 
136 


THK  SPRUCK  PINK. 


ES   MOHR,  Ph.  D. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

The  Spruce  Pine  is  the  least  common  of  the  piues  found  iu  the  lower  Southern  States.  The 
tree  is  frequently  confounded  by  the  inhabitants  with  the  Shortleaf  Pine,  to  which  it  is  closely 
related.  Its  vernacular  names  are,  in  different  sections  of  its  range,  applied  to  several  other  i)ines; 
in  Florida  to  the  Sand  Tine  (Pinus clausa),  in  north  Alabama  to  the  Scrub  Pine  (P«i»s  rlrginiana), 
and  in  the  southern  part  of  this  State  even  to  the  Cuban  Pine.  Although  never  forming  extensive 
bodies  of  timber,  being  for  the  most  part  widely  scattered  among  the  broadleaf  evergreens  and 
deciduous  trees  with  which  it  is  associated,  and  in  the  quality  of  its  wood  of  low  rank,  this  little 
known  tree  has  been  given  a  place  here  among  the  monograjihs  of  the  timber  pines  of  the  South 
Atlantic  forest  region  iu  order  to  dispel  for  the  future  its  confusion  with  some  of  these  trees,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  tree  planter  to  it  as  the  only  one  of  its  kind  which 
thrives  and  propagates  in  the  shade,  keeping  its  ground  closely  surrounded  by  the  luxuriant  and 
varied  tree  growth  with  which  it  is  associated,  and  soon  outstripping  the  same  by  the  rapidity  of 
its  growth.  Considering  that  among  all  others  of  its  kind  in  the  same  region  it  attains  the  fullness 
of  its  growth  in  the  shortest  time,  with  dimensions  which  render  it  valuable  for  many  of  the  pur- 
poses for  which  the  softer  and  lighter  kinds  of  timber  are  used,  its  economic  importance  can  not 
be  ignored. 

HISTORICAL. 

The  Spruce  Pine  was  first  recognized  as  a  distinct  species  and  described  as  Finus  glabra  by 
Walter,  in  his  Flora  Caroliniana  in  1788,  having  since  that  time  been  known  under  this  name 
by  the  botanists.  Hidden  in  the  remote  semiswampy  dense  forests,  it  escaped  the  attention  of 
later  botanists.  Neither  the  iVIichauxs,  fathei^  and  son,  nor  Nuttall  were  aware  of  its  existence. 
It  was  unknown  for  fully  three-fourths  of  a  century  until  rediscovered  by  Professor  Pavenel  in 
the  swamps  of  Berkeley  County,  S.  C.  Ten  years  later  the  tree  was  described  in  Chapman's  Flora, 
1860.  It  was  recognized  by  Professor  Elilgard  in  the  Pearl  River  Valley,  Mississippi.  In  1880  its 
distribution  was  traced  by  the  writer  through  the  Gulf  region  to  its  western  limit  in  the  eastern 
parishes  of  Louisiana. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

The  Spruce  Pine  is  a  tree  of  the  southeastern  Atlantic  forest,  confined  to  the  subtropical 
region  or  the  Louisianian  zone  of  American  botanists,  within  that  part  of  the  coastal  plain  of  the 
southern  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf  States  embraced  between  the  thirty  first  and  thirty-third  degrees 
of  north  latitude;  from  South  Carolina  through  middle  and  northwestern  Florida  to  Louisiana, 
with  its  western  limit  between  the  Pearl  and  Mississippi  rivers.  This  tree  is  mostly  found  single 
or  in  groups  on  the  low  terraces  with  a  fresh  or  damp  soil  rich  in  humus,  rising  above  the  swamps 
subject  to  frequent  overflow.  It  is  seldom  seen  to  form  compact  bodies  of  timber;  such  have  only 
been  observed  between  the  Chattahoochee  and  Choctawhatchee  rivers,  in  northwestern  Florida, 
where,  to  all  ap])earances,  this  tree  finds  its  best  development  on  isolated  tracts  of  tertile  red  loam 
lands. 

ECONOMIC    IMP0RTANC:E. 

Nowhere  forming  pure  forests  of  any  extent,  this  pine  is  of  little  importance  to  the  lumbering 
interests  of  the  present,  and  its  timber  has  never  become  an  article  of  commerce.  Although  the 
timber  is  of  inferior  quality,  it  furnishes  lumber  of  dimensions  equaling  the  best  of  our  timber 


138  TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

pines.  It  is  light,  soft,  easily  worked,  and  capable  of  good  liiii.sli,  and  is  without  doubt  fit  for 
many  uses  of  the  house  carpenter  and  cabinetmaker  in  the  manufacture  of  furniture  and  other 
purposes.  Owing  to  the  large  percentage  of  ash  and  smaller  quantity  of  resinous  matter,  the 
actual  fuel  value  of  the  wood  of  the  Spruce  Pine  is  lower  than  that  of  the  other  Southern  pines; 
for  its  resinous  product  the  tree  is  considered  of  no  value,  since  the  resin  does  not  run  when  it 
is  tapped.' 

In  its  wood  the  Spruce  Pine  resembles  Loblolly.  The  sapwood  is  wide,  and  even  in  trees 
seventy-five  to  eighty  years  old  it  forms  more  thau  three-fourths  of  all  the  wood.  The  change 
from  sap  to  heart  wood  begins  as  early  as  in  the  pines  mentioned,  and  as  in  these  is  retarded  with 
age  and  also  with  any  suppression  of  growth,  so  that  in  stunted  young  trees  the  change  begins 
later,  and  the  sapwood  of  these,  as  well  as  old  trees,  is  always  composed  of  a  greater  number  of 
rings.  While  green,  the  wood  is  very  heavy,  weighing  45  to  30  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  varying  in 
this  respect  chiefly  with  the  proportion  of  sapwood.  When  kiln-dried,  the  wood  weighs  about  27 
pounds  to  the  cubic  foot;  it  is  heaviest  at  the  butt,  weighing  about  3 1  pounds  to  the  cubic  foot, 
and  lightest  near  the  top,  where  its  weight  falls  as  low  as  25  pounds  to  the  cubic  foot.  As  in 
other  pines,  the  heaviest  wood  is  produced  by  young  trees.  The  amountof  water  contained  in  the 
fresh  wood  is  quite  variable — very  great  in  the  sapwood,  and  consequently  in  young  timber — but 
falls  little  below  50  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  green  timber  on  the  whole.  Its  behavior  in  drying 
is  the  same  as  in  light  grades  of  Loblolly;  it  dries  rapidly  and  without  much  injury,  shrinking, 
during  this  process,  by  about  10  per  cent  of  its  volume. 

The  strength  of  this  wood  is,  as  in  other  conifers,  closely  related  to  its  weight.  Accordingly, 
the  Spruce  Pine  is  inferior  to  both  Shortleaf  and  Loblolly. 

From  careful  experiment  it  appears  that  its — 

Lbs.  per  sq.  inch. 

Modulus  of  elasticity  is  about 900,000 

Transverse  strength 6,000 

Compression  endwise 4,  000 

In  its  structure  the  wood  resembles  too  closely  that  of  the  Loblolly  to  enable  as  yet  any 
identification  on  this  feature,  and  the  description  for  the  wood  of  the  Loblolly  answers  perfectly  for 
the  product  of  this  species.  As  in  Loblolly  and  other  hard  pines,  summerwood  and  springwood 
are  always  well  defined,  the  summerwood  forming  from  15  up  to  40  per  cent  of  the  total  volume, 
dift'eriug  in  this  respect  from  the  White  Pine  which  it  has  been  claimed  to  resemble.  Thus  while 
decidedly  softer  on  the  whole  than  Loblolly  it  is  by  no  means  to  be  expected  that  the  Spruce  Pine 
can  hope  to  serve  as  a  general  substitute  for  the  true  White  Pine. 

BOTANICAL   DESCRIPTION. 

Leaves  invariably  in  pairs,  with  short  and  close  sheath ;  soft,  slender,  l.i  to  3  inches  long^ 
twisted;  cones  short  stalked,  horizontal  or  reflexed,  the  cone  scales  with  a  fiat  apophysis,  the 
depressed  umbo  unarmed  or  with  a  minute  weak  erect  prickle. 

The  Spi-uce  Pine  is  readily  distinguished  by  the  close  bark  of  its  trunk,  which  in  the  crown  and 
the  limbs  is  perfectly  smooth  and  of  a  light-gray  color;  in  foliage  and  in  cones  it  resembles  most 
closely  the  Sand  Pine  {Pinus  elausa)  of  the  coast  region  of  Florida  and  the  eastern  Gulf  States, 
which,  however,  is  distinguished  by  the  more  prominent  apophysis  of  the  cone  scales,  armed  with  a 
short,  stout,  reflexed  prickle.  The  Shortleaf  Pine,  to  which  it  is  next  related,  is  distinguished  by 
the  same  characters  and  further  by  the  fascicles  of  two  and  three  leaves  and  the  rigid  young  shoots 
of  the  season  covered  with  slender,  long,  loosely  fimbriated  bud  scales. 

The  leaves  are  concave,  faintly  serrulate,  short  pointed,  and  arc  shed  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  second  season  or  the  beginning  of  the  third. 

In  the  details  of  their  structure  they  differ  little  from  the  leaves  of  the  Shortleaf  Pine;  the 
rows  of  breathing  pores  (stomata)  are  numerous  on  both  surfaces;  the  strengthening  cells  of  the 
cortical  tissue  are  smaller  and  less  numerous;  the  resin  ducts,  two  or  three,  are  pareuchyma- 
tous,  the  cells  of  the  bundle  sheath  thin  walled.  The  two  fibro-vascular  bundles  distant  and 
without  strengthening  cells. 

'  Raveuel:  Proceed,  of  Elliott  Society,  Charleston,  I,  52. 


GROWTH    OF    SPRUCE    PIXE. 


139 


The  male  flowers  are  lateral,  sessile,  and  about  one-half  to  thiee-lbiirtlis  of  an  inch  long, 
slender,  siirrounded  by  live  to  six  pairs  of  short  ovate,  rather  obtuse  stiff  scales,  with  a  uari'ow, 
membranaceous  lacerated  border.  The  crest  of  the  anther  is  elliptical,  with  tine  deuticulatious. 
The  small  female  aments  are  mostly  single,  short  stalked,  the  carpellary  scales  laucesliaped  with 
slender  tips  and  subtended  by  the  short  infertile  bract. 

The  cones  are  mostly  single  with  a  short  stock  and  of  various  shapes  on  the  same  tree,  from 
round  to  oblong-ovate  or  more  or  less  cone-shaped,  from  1^  to  2  inches  long,  and,  on  the  opening 
of  the  scales  from  three-fourths  to  1  inch  wide,  of  a  light  tawny  color.  The  scales  are  softer 
and  more  flexible  than  in  the  Shortleaf  Pine,  the  apophysis  broader,  with  the  umbo  depressed, 
unarmed,  or  with  a  minute,  weak,  erect,  and  deciduous  prickle,  the  ridge  faint,  hazel-browu  on 
the  inside.  The  somewhat  triangular  roughish  seeds,  black  with  brown  specks,  about  three- 
sixteenths  of  an  inch  long  and  one  eighth  inch  wide,  separating  easily  from  the  wing,  which  is 
little  over  one-half  inch  long  and  surrounds  the  seed  to  the  base. 

PROGRESS   OF   DEVELOPMENT. 

The  Spruce  Pine  begins  to  flower  and  to  produce  perfect  seeds  at  an  age  of  twelve  to  fifteen 
years,  in  greatest  abundance  between  twenty  and  forty  years;  the  flowers  appear  during  the 
earliest  part  of  March;  shortly  after  pollination  the  female  ements  assume  a  horizontal  position, 
and  finally  became  more  or  less  reflected.  At  the  end  of  the  first  season  the  conelets  are  of  the 
size  of  a  large  pea.  The  cones  mature  in  the  second  year  in  the  month  of  September;  the  seeds 
are  freely  shed  early  in  the  fall.  They  germinate  during  the  fall  and  early  in  the  coming  spring; 
the  plantlets,  with  eight  to  ten  slender,  soft  cotyledons,  are  over  an  inch  long.  The  terminal  bud 
develops  rapidly,  densely  covered  with  the  slender,  soft  primary  leaves  which  are  sharp  pointed 
and  frequently  over  an  inch  in  length.  Early  in  April  seedlings  are  found  over  one  half  foot  long, 
later  in  the  season  fascicles  of  the  foliage  leaves  appear  in  the  axils  of  the  upper  primary  leaves, 
when  the  lower  wither  and  disappear  near  the  end  of  the  season.  At  this  stage  the  seedlings  are 
generally  a  foot  high  with  the  root  system  less  developed  than  in  its  kindred  species  at  the  same 
age;  the  taproot  scarcely  2  inches  in  length  with  a  few  short  lateral  roots. 

With  the  twentieth  year  the  trees  are  generally  from  30  to  35  feet  high  and  4  to  4J  inches  in 
diameter,  the  stem  clear  of  limbs  for  the  length  of  about  12  feet.  They  attain  their  full  growth 
at  an  age  of  from  sixty  to  seventy-five  years. 

The  trees  for  the  United  States  timber  tests  from  the  border  of  the  swamps  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tensaw  Eiver,  in  Baldwin  County,  Ala.,  showed  the  following  dimensions  and  age: 

Meaaurenienta  of  five  trees. 


No.  of  tree. 

-tu^^r 

breasthigh. 

^sr 

Height  of 
tree. 

^:s^. 

458 
459 

78 
53 
46 
75 
83 

Inches. 
22 
17 
15 
22 
23 

Feel. 
45 
56 
40 
57 
60 

Feet. 

120 
96 
85 
99 

116 

All  sap. 

5 

460 
461 

From  these  figures  it  appears  that  the  two  trees  forty-six  and  fifty-three  (average  forty-nine) 
years  old  have  an  average  volume  of  63  cubic  feet  and  grew  at  the  rate  of  about  1.3  cubic  feet, 
while  the  three  trees  seventy-five  to  eighty-three  (average  seventy-eight)  years  old  have  an 
average  volume  of  about  152  cubic  feet  and  an  average  yearly  growth  of  about  2  cubic  feet.  The 
following  represents  a  typical  case: 

Growth  of  Spruce  Fine. 


Rings  on 
stump,  a 

Height  of 

Diameter 
without 
barli. 

^tS"^ 

Average  yearly  growth  in— 

Height.    1  Diameter.      Volume. 

10 

30 
45 

Feel. 

67 

84 

Ineke. 
5 

8.5 
12 
15 

9.5 
26 

51 

Feet.            Inches.         Cubic  ft. 
3.7    '             0.5                  0,2 
1.4                     .3                     .7 
1.6     1                .3                   1.6 
1.1                     .2                   1.6 

i  add  about  three  years. 


140  TIMBER    FIXES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 

The  Spruce  Pine  attains  a  height  of  from  83  to  110  feet  and  over;  the  trunk  is  clear  of  limbs 
for  a  length  of  from  45  to  00  feet,  anil  it  is  from  2  to  2A  feet  in  diameter  breast  high,  seldom 
exceeding  3  feet.  The  largest  trees  observed  were  about  ll'O  feet  in  height  by  a  girth  of  fully  10 
feet  breast  high. 

The  taproot  appears  to  be  less  strongly  developed  than  in  the  Shortleaf,  the  lower  lateral  roots 
run  for  a  short  distance  close  to  the  surface  before  penetrating  the  ground;  the  bark  is  close,  with 
deep,  narrow  furrows,  separating  in  narrow  thin  scales,  and  of  a  reddish-brown  color.  The  limbs 
are  horizontal,  dividing  in  rectangular  sin-eading  branches  and  branchlets.  The  leaves  also 
become  in  the  latter  jiart  of  the  season  widely  spreading,  the  density  of  the  foliage  being  reeu- 
forced  by  the  leaves  of  the  short  branchlets  produced  on  the  older  branches  from  adventitious 
buds.  To  this  spreading  habit  of  the  ultimate  division  of- the  branches  and  of  the  leaves  is  due 
the  peculiar  spraj'  of  the  foliage,  similar  to  that  of  the  true  cedars. 


No  observations  have  been  made  of  the  injuries  inflicted  upon  this  tree  by  insects.  Trees, 
after  having  passed  the  period  of  full  growth,  at  the  age  of  about  100  years,  are  very  frequently 
affected  with  decay  in  the  stump  and  with  redheart  in  the  top.  In  the  damp  hummock  lands  the 
tree  is  rarely  touched  by  fire.  Where  the  underbrush  and  the  vegetable  matter  of  the  soil  covering 
has  been  destroyed  by  repeated  conflagrations,  however,  the  trees  begin  to  sicken  and  soon  die. 

KEt^lTIRElVIENTS    OF    DEVEI.OrMEAT. 

The  Spruce  Pine  requires  the  warm  climate  of  the  subtropical  zone,  with  a  mean  annual 
temperature  of  about  00°  F.  and  a  mean  temperature  of  19°  F.  in  the  winter  months  (in  central 
Alabama  the  thermometer  fiills  sometimes  to  an  extreme  of  5°  F.),  and  the  humid  atmosphere  of 
the  coastal  plain,  with  a  mean  annual  rainfall  of  ."il  inches,  evenly  distributed  throughout  the  year. 
This  tree  will  endure,  during  the  early  stages  of  its  growth,  more  shade  than  any  other  of  the 
pines  of  the  Atlantic  forest  region,  perhaps  the  White  Pine  [Pinus  strobus)  excepted.  Retarded 
in  its  growth  under  severe  oppression,  it  will  finally  force  its  way  through  its  close  surroundings, 
and  having  gained  a  freer  access  to  light,  it  pushes  its  crown  rapidly  above  the  broad-leaved 
evergreens  and  deciduous  trees  which  luxuriate  on  the  same  ground.  It  demands  a  loose  soil, 
rich  in  humus,  fresh  to  moist  but  not  wet,  with  a  deep  porous  subsoil,  which  in  these  lands  is 
frequently  a  light,  sandy  loam. 

The  Spruce  Pine  is  never  found  in  the  forest  of  the  alluvial  bottoms,  with  their  heavy  soil,  sub- 
ject to  frequent  overflow,  nor  in  the  dry,  sandy  pine  forests.  Where  it  finds  the  soil  conditions 
most  f;ivorable  to  its  growth,  Magnolias,  Cucumber  trees,  Sweet  Gum,  Mockernut,  Hickory,  and 
Beech  are  found  of  greatest  thrift,  not  infrequently  associated  with  the  Shortleaf  and  the  Loblolly 
pines.  The  undergrowth  on  such  lands  is  luxuriant,  consisting  of  Dogwood,  Hollj*,  Summer  Haw, 
and  a  variety  of  shrubs.  Bush  Huckleberries  [Taccinium  virrjidtim),  Farkleberries  (V.  arborcum), 
Storax  Bushes  (Sttjra.v  (jrundifoUum),  Cornels  [Cornus  scricea),  and  lilue  Palmetto,  forming  dense 
brush  interlaced  by  numerous  woody  climbers  (Yitis,  Ampelopsis,  ^Yistaria). 

As  has  been  observed  in  northwestern  Florida,  where  it  finds  the  proper  soil  conditions,  the 
second  growth  of  this  pine  soon  occupies  the  clearings  made  in  the  original  forest.  Tracts  of  young 
forests  of  much  promise  have  been  met  with  between  the  Choctawhatchee  and  Chattahoochee 
rivers.  The  hammock  land,  forming  the  home  of  the  Spruce  Pine,  being  witli  the  increase  of  the 
population  rapidly  claimed  for  cultivation,  this  beautiful  pine  will  soon  be  solely  confined  to  the 
most  remote  and  inaccessible  localities.  Being  the  only  really  soft  pine  of  the  Southern  States, 
and  having  by  its  shade  endurance  a  peculiar  forest  value,  this  tree  will  probably  form  an 
important  part  in  tlie  future,  when  forestry  has  become  an  established  business. 


NOTES  ON  THK  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  WOOD  OF  FIVE  SOUTHERN  FIXES. 

{I'innx  jHihisIri",  hclrxiphnlla.  ichiiidUi.  t.rdu,  ijlahra.) 


Sap  and  Heartwood. 
Annual  Eings. 
Spring  and  Summer  Wood. 
Grain  of  I'he  Wood. 
Minute  Anatomy. 


25666— No.  13—02 11 


NOTES  OX  THH  STRUCTURE  OE  THE  WOOD  OF  FIM:  SOUTHERN  PLXES. 

(PiHHS  paliistris,  heterophijJla,  ichiiiatii,  tivda,  yliibra. ) 


By    FiLIBERT    Kll 

III  charge  of  Timhtr  I'Jii/sics,  Di 


of  Fc 


The  wood  of  these  pines  is  so  much  alike  ia  appearance  and  even  in  minute  structure  that  it 
can  be  discussed  largely  without  distinction  of  species.  The  distinctions,  as  far  as  there  are  any, 
have  been  pointed  out  iu  the  introduction.  Here  it  is  proposed  to  give  in  more  detail  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  wood  strncturi'. 

SAP    AND    HEARTWOOD. 

All  five  species  have  a  distinct  sap  and  heartwood,  the  sap  being  light  yellow  to  whitish,  the 
heart  yellowish  to  reddish  or  orange  brown.  The  line  of  demarcation  between  the  two  is  well 
defined,  without  any  visible  transition  stage.  The  location  of  this  line  does  not  as  a  rule  coincide 
with  the  line  of  any  annual  ring,  so  that  the  wood  of  the  same  year's  growth  may  be  sap  on  one 
side  of  the  ti'ee  and  heart  on  tlie  other.  The  difference  in  this  condition  may  amount  to  ten  or 
twenty  rings,  which  on  one  side  of  the  same  section  will  be  lieart,  on  the  other  side  sap. 

There  is  considerable  variation  in  the  relative  width  of  the  two  zones  as  well  as  the  number 
of  rings  involved  in  either  and  also  in  the  age  at  which  the  ti'ansition  i'roiu  sap  to  heartwood 
begins.  This  age  was  rarely  found  to  be  below  twenty  years;  as  a  rule  the  transformation  begins 
in  young  trees  when  the  particular  section  of  the  tree  is  between  twenty  and  twenty- live  years  old, 
but  the  progress  of  heart  formation  does  not  keep  pace  with  the  annual  growth,  being  more  and 
more  retarded  as  the  tree  grows  older,  so  that  while  iu  a  section  twenty- five  years  old  twenty-two 
rings  may  be  sapwood,  at  thirty-five  years  the  sapwood  will  comprise  only  thirty  rings ;  at  forty- five 
years,  forty  rings:  at  eighty  years,  fifty  rings;  and  in  sections  two  hundred  years  old  the  outer 
eighty  to  one  hundred  rings  will  still  be  sap.  A  young  tree  of  Longleaf  Pine  (^o.  22)  was,  for 
instance,  found  to  show  the  following  relations : 


section.         ^g^'         .tc^-f 

Rings  of 
sap. 

W;:::;: 

VII 

ifi:::::: 

Feet. 
6 
M 
22 
30 
42 

Teart. 

38 
30 
24 

18 

Xumber. 
40 
33 
27 
23 
17 

The  change  from  sap  to  heartwood  begins  earlier  in  young  trees  than  in  the  younger  portions 
of  older  trees;  in  these  latter,  sections  thirty-six  and  forty  years  old  are  quite  commonly  found 
still  entirely  made  up  of  sapwood,  while  in  young  trees,  as  stated  above,  the  change  begins  before 
the  age  of  thirty  years. 

The  progress  of  the  transformation  is  somewhat  influenced  by  the  rate  of  growth;  it  is  slower 
in  slow-growing  trees  and  usually  also  ou  the  slower-growing  radius,  i.  e.,  there  are  more  rings  of 

143 


144  TIMBER   PINES   OF    THE    SOUTHERN  UNITED   STATES. 

sapwood.  The  widtli  of  tlie  sapwood,  on  the  other  hand,  stands  in  relation  to  the  rate  of  growth 
in  an  opposite  manner;  it  is  wider  in  young  and  thrifty  than  in  old  and  stunted  trees,  and  widest 
along  the  greatest  radius  of  any  section ;  similarly,  it  is  wider  in  the  faster-growing  Loblolly,  Cuban, 
and  Spruce  pines  than  in  the  slow-growing  Longleaf. 

Besides  being  of  a  lighter  color  the  sapwood  differs  from  the  heartwood  in  several  respects. 
Its  resin  is  limpid  and  oozes  out  of  the  pores  or  resin  ducts  of  any  fresh  cut;  that  of  the  heartwood 
does  not  flow,  except  in  rare  cases,  from  saturated  pieces  or  "light  wood."  The  sapwood  contains 
much  less  resin — both  rosin  aud  turpentine— than  the  heartwood.  Tlius  in  a  section  of  Longleaf 
the  sapwood  contained  only  0.2  per  cent  of  turpentine  and  1  per  cent  of  rosin,  while  the  heait 
contained  from  2  to  4  per  cent  of  turpentine  aud  12  to  24  per  cent  of  rosin,  and  though  this  is  an 
extreme  case  the  heart  generally  has  three  to  live  times  as  much  resinous  matter  as  the  sap.  The 
fresh  sapwood  contains  three  to  five  times  as  much  free  water  as  the  heartwood  aiul  is,  even  when 
seasoned,  more  hygroscopic  and  subject  to  relatively  greater  shrinkage  than  the  heart.  This 
capacity  for  taking  up  water  readily  is  probably  one  of  the  reasons  why  sapwood  decays  more 
readily.  In  addition,  the  parenchyma  cells  of  the  medullary  rays  and  resin  ducts  (see  further  on) 
contain,  at  least  in  the  outer  parts  of  the  sapwood,  living  protoplasm  and  reserve  food  materials 
which  are  readily  seized  upon  by  fungi  which  cause  "bluing"  and  decay.  Such  living  tissue  does 
not  exist  in  the  heartwood.  The  heartwood  in  old  logs  generally  is  heavier  than  the  sapwood. 
This  is  not  due  to  any  later  thickening  or  growth  of  its  cell  walls,  after  their  original  formation, 
but  is  due  chiefly  to  two  causes : 

1.  The  heartwood  of  old  logs  was  formed  when  the  tree  was  younger,  and  made,  naturally, 
heavier  wood. 

2,  The  accumulation  of  resin  in  the  heart  already  referred  to  increases  often  very  considerably 
the  weight  of  the  heartwood. 

In  the  same  way  the  sapwood  of  old  logs,  such  as  supply  the  sawmills,  is  weaker  than  the 
heartwood  of  the  same  logs,  but  this  is  not  because  the  wood  is  in  the  sapwood  condition,  but 
because  it  is  lighter  aud  its  summerwood  per  cent  smaller,  being,  as  stated  before,  the  production  of 
old  age  when  heavy  aud  strong  wood  is  no  longer  formed.  Chemically  the  wood  substance  of 
sapwood  is  practically  like  that  of  heartwood;  the  coloring  substances  which  permeate  the  cell 
walls  in  heartwood  appear  to  be  infiltrations,  i.  e.,  deposited  in  the  walls  from  solutions;  they  are 
insignificant  in  amount,  and  their  true  »ature,  especially  the  processes  leading  to  their  formation, 
are  not  yet  fully  understood.  The  most  modern  views  which  consider  these  coloring  bodies  or 
heartwood  substances  as  products  of  oxidation  of  tannin  still  require  confirmation. 

ANNUAL   RINGS. 

The  layers  of  growth,  known  and  appearing  on  any  cross  section  as  annual  rings,  show  very 
distinctly  in  the  wood  of  these  pines.  In  a  section  8  or  10  feet  from  the  ground  the  rings  are 
widest  at  the  center,  of  considerable  width  for  the  first  thirty  to  fifty  rings,  the  period  of  most  rapid 
growth  in  height;  then  they  grow  more  aud  more  narrow  toward  the  periphery.  In  the  last  sixty 
to  one  hundred  rings  of  very  old  logs  the  decrease  is  very  small,  the  rings  remaining  practically  of 
the  same  width.  The  same  year's  growth  is  usually  wider  in  the  upper  part  of  the  stem,  both  in 
young  and  old  trees,  but  the  average  width  of  the  rings  is  naturally  greater  in  the  upper  part  only 
of  young  trees;  in  old  and  also  in  stunted  trees  it  is  smaller,  since  in  these  the  upper  portions  do 
not  share  in  the  more  rapid  growth  of  the  early  years. 

lliugs  over  half  an  inch  wide  are  frequently  seen  in  Loblolly  and  occur  in  Spruce  Pine;  rings 
one  fourth  of  an  inch  in  width  occur  in  very  thrifty  saplings  of  all  five  species,  but  the  average 
width  of  the  rings  for  sapling  timber  is  usually  less  than  one  fourth  of  an  inch,  commonly  one-eighth. 
In  trees  over  one  hundred  years  old  it  drops  to  one-twelfth  of  an  inch  and  even  below.  The  average 
width  of  the  rings  is  normally  smallest  in  Longleaf  Pine,  being  onetwenty-fifth  of  an  inch  and  less. 
(See  also  tables  and  diagrams  of  rate  of  growth  in  the  introduction,  as  well  as  in  the  several 
monographs.) 

The  influence  of  orientation  on  the  width  of  the  rings  is  completely  obscured  by  other,  more 
potent  influences,  so  that  sometimes  the  radius  on  the  north  side,  other  times  that  of  some  other 


ANNUAL    RINGS.  145 

side,  is  the  greatest;  and  it  is  a  common  observation  to  see  this  relation  vary  within  wide  limits, 
even  in  the  trunk  of  the  same  tree. 

Stunted  trees  of  Lougleaf  Pine  over  one  hundred  years  old  with  an  average  width  of  ring  of 
one- fiftieth  of  an  inch  are  frequently  met  with  in  old  timber;  of  the  other  species  no  such  trees 
were  observed.  The  decrease  of  the  width  of  the  rings  from  center  to  periphery  is  never  perfectly 
uniform.  Not  only  do  consecutive  rings  differ  within  considerable  limits,  but  frequently  zones  of 
narrower  rings,  iucluding  thirty  or  more  years'  growth,  disturb  the  general  regularity.  Where 
these  zones  consist  of  very  narrow  rings,  one-fiftieth  of  an  inch  or  less,  the  wood  is  of  distinctly 
lighter  color  and  weight.  Since  the  value  of  this  class  of  wood  depends  not  only  on  its  strength 
and  stiffness  but  also  on  the  fineness  of  its  rings  (grain),  in  so  far  as  the  grain  infiuences  both  the 
appearance  and  the  ease  of  shaping  as  well  as  other  mechanical  properties,  the  width  of  the  annual 
ring  is  of  great  importance,  from  a  technical  point  of  view,  the  finer-ringed  (grained)  wood  of  the 
same  weight  always  deserving  and  mostly  receiving  preference. 

The  rings  of  the  limbs  are  narrower  than  the  corresponding  rings  of  the  stem.  Moreover, 
they  are  usually  of  different  widths  on  the  upper  and  lower  side  of  the  same  branch,  those  of  the 
latter  excelling  in  width  those  of  the  former.  Frequently  the  wider  lower  part  of  a  ring  of  a  branch 
appears  like  a  "lune"  on  the  cross  section,  quite  wide  (one-eighth  of  an  inch  and  more)  in  its  lower 
median  part,  and  scarcely  visible,  often  entirely  fading  out,  on  the  upper  side.  This  diii'erence  is  com- 
monly accentuated  by  the  appearance  of  the  wood  itself.  In  the  upper  part  the  wood  of  the  ring  is 
normal  and  light  colored,  owing  to  a  very  small  summerwood  \>er  cent;  on  the  lower  wide  part, 
the  "lune,''  the  wood  is  commonly  of  reddish  color,  either  even  throughout  the  entire  width  of  the 
ring,  or  else  in  several  varicolored  bauds,  which  give  the  appearance  of  two  or  more  separate 
ill-defined  rings.  Sometimes  the  earliest  formed  springwood  is  included  in  this  unusual  colora- 
tion, at  other  times  only  the  median  portion  of  the  ring.  Tliis  "red  wood,"  as  it  has  been  termed 
by  the  French  and  (lerman  writers,  is  composed  of  very  thick-walled  cells  and  increases  markedly 
the  weight  of  the  wood,  so  that  the  wood  of  the  side  containing  it  is  usually  much  the  heaviest. 
It  is  of  interest  that  the  several  "lunes"  in  any  cross  section  occur  rarely,  if  ever,  exactly  one 
above  the  other,  but  commonly  the  radius  passing  through  the  middle  of  one  "lune"  makes  an 
angle  of  20  to  40  degrees  with  the  radius  passing  through  the  middle  of  another  "lune."  Often 
successive  "lunes"  show  considerable  deviation  in  position  and  commonly  differ  in  width  or  degree 
of  development.  Accepting  the  most  recent  explanation  of  this  phenomenon  as  expressed  by 
Hartig  and  Cieslar,'  it  would  appear  that  the  formation  of  these  broad  "lunes"  of  especially 
strong  cells  is  due  to  pressure-stimulus  on  the  growing  cambium,  caused  by  the  weight  of  the  limb 
and  its  peculiar  position,  increased  at  all  times  by  movements  of  the  limb  due  to  the  wind.  More- 
over, it  seems  that  the  formation  of  one  well-<leveIoped  "lune"  relieves  for  a  time  the  pressure, 
and  with  it  the  necessity  for  a  repetition  of  this  formation.  These  "lunes"  are  most  conspicuous 
in  the  limbs  of  these  pines  near  the  trunk,  and  disappear  at  variable  distances  from  the  trunk  and 
with  them  disappears  the  eccentricity  and  the  difference  in  appearance  and  weight  of  the  wood 
of  the  limbs.  Immediately  at  the  junction  of  limb  and  stem  the  pressure  is  constant,  and  the 
result  is  the  formation  of  almost  uniformly  thick-walled  tissue  in  all  parts  of  the  ring,  giving  to 
the  "knot"  its  great  weight  and  hardness. 

"Lunes"  similar  to  those  of  the  limb  are  frequently  observed  in  the  stems  of  small  trees; 
wherever  this  has  been  noted  it  was  found  on  the  underside  of  a  leaning  or  curved  portion.'' 
Occasionally  such  a  "lune"  extends  for  12  and  more  feet  up  and  down. 

Quite  distinct  from  this  modification  of  the  annual  ring  is  another  modification  frequently  seen, 
especially  in  young  trees,  giving  rise  to  so-called  "false"  rings.  It  consists  in  the  ai)pearance  of 
one  or  more,  rarely  two,  dark  colored  lines,  which  precede  the  true  summerwood  band  of  the  ring. 
These  lines,  resembling  the  summerwood  in  color  and  composed  like  it  of  thick-walled  cells,  follow 
the  true  springwood  of  the  year  and  are  separated  from  the  summerwood  and  from  each  other 
(if  there  are  more  than  one)  by  a  light  colored  line  resembling  springwood.  While  occasionally 
this  is  somewhat  misleading  in  counting  the  rings,  a  moderate  magnification  usually  suftices  to 

'A.  Cies'.ar,  "  Rotholz  d.  Fichte,"  Centralblatt  f.  d.  g.  Forstweseu  189(5,  p.  149,  and  Robert  Hartig  "Das  Rothholz 
der  Fichte"  iu  Forslich-naturwissenschartliche  Zeitschrilt,  1896,  p.  165. 
-Cieslar  produced  them  at  will  by  bending  young  spruce  saplings. 


i4f; 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN   UNITED    STATES. 


distinguish  the  real  character  of  the  tissues,  as  described  hiter  on.  A  more  serious  difficulty 
ari.ses  in  very  old,  slowly  growing  trees,  where  the  ring  sometimes  is  represented  by  only  one  to 
three  cells  (see  fig.  18)  and  occasionally  disappears,  i.  e.,  is  entirely  wanting  in  some  parts  of  the 
cross  section.  Generally  these  cases,  due  to  various  causes,  are  too  rare  to  seriously  interfere  in 
the  establishment  of  the  age  of  a  tree.         ^ 

.SPRING    AND    STTM:MER    WOOD. 

The  difference  between  spring  and  summer  wood  is  strongly  marked  in  these  pines,  the 
transition  from  the  former  to  the  latter  being  normally  abrupt  and  giving  to  the  annual  ring  the 
appearance  of  two  sharply  defined  bands.  (See  figs.  13  and  18  U.)  In  wide  rings  the  transition  is 
sometimes  gradual.  The  springwood  is  light  colored,  has  a  specific  gravity  of  about  0.40,  and  thus 
■weighs  somewhat  less  than  half  as  nuich  as  the  darker  summerwood,  with  a  specific  gravity  of 
about  0.90  to  1.05,  so  that  the  weight  and  with  it  the  strength  of  the  wood  is  greater  the  larger 
the  amount  of  summerwood.     (See  diagram,  fig.  14.) 


t-lAST  SO -i- 210  SO  RiNCS.-f- 
IRINGS   OR  50                                ' 

m  50  RINGS. — 

-"f- 

-  -4tH  50  RINGb.- 

-  -|-CENTRAL  28  RINGS,>I 

Iyrs.  growth                      1 

1                                ' 

iSUMMER  WOODJ     SUMMER  WOOD.    1 

SUMMER  WOOD. 

SUMMER  WOOD. 

.       SUMMER  WOOD.      1 

Wr^j 

45%. 

52%. 

1         «x 
[                1 

The  absolute  width  of  the  summerwood  varies  generally  with  the  width  of  the  ring  (see 
diagram,  fig.  15),  i.  e.,  the  wider  the  ring  the  wider  the  summerwood  band.  It  decreases  in  a  cross 
section  of  an  old  log  from  near  the  pith  to  the  periphery,  and  in  the  same  layer,  from  the  stump 
to  the  top  of  the  tree.  Where  the  growth  of  the  stem  is  very  eccentric,  the  wood  along  the  greater 
radius  has  the  greatest  proportion  of  summerwood;  thus,  in  a  disk  of  Longleaf,  for  instance,  there 
is  on  the  north  side  a  radius  of  152  mm.  with  27  per  cent  summerwood ;  on  the  south  side  a  radius 
of  98  mm.  and  a  summerwood  per  cent  of  only  20  per  cent.  In  the  stump  section  the  great  irreg- 
ularity in  the  contour  of  the  rings  is  accompanied  by  a  corresponding  irregularity  in  the  outline 
of  the  summerwood. 

The  summerwood  generally  forms  less  than  half  of  the  total  volume  of  the  whole  log  (see  fig. 
13) ;  it  Ibrms  a  greater  i>art  of  the  coarse-grained  wood  which  was  grown  while  the  tree  was  young 
than  in  the  fine-ringed  outer  parts  of  the  log,  grown  in  the  old-age  period.  It  also  forms  a  greater 
part  in  the  volume  of  the  butt  than  of  the  top  log,  and  thus  fully  explains  the  well-known  difference 
in  the  weight,  strength,  and  value  of  the  various  i)arts  of  the  tree.  Tlie  following  table  serves  to 
illustrate  this  point.  The  numbers  in  each  line  refer  to  the  average  values  for  the  same  ten  annual 
layers  through  three  sections  of  the  tree  at  varying  height.  The  figures  in  iialivsi  below  refer  to 
specific  gravity  for  the  same  layer.    The  values  for  specific  gravity  were  calculated  on  Ihe  basis  of 


SPRING    AND    SUMMER   WOOD. 


147 


allowing  a  specific  gravity  of  0.40  for  springwood  aud  0.00  for  summerwood,  tlie  values  for  the 
entire  disks  as  actually  observed  being  given  below: 

Summerwood  per  cent  and  specific  gravity  in  rarious  parts  of  a  tree  of  Longlcaf  riiie. 


, 

11 

21      31 

41      51 

fil 

71 

81 

91 

101    111 

121   131 

141 

1S1 

161 

171 

181 

191 

'01 

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O")! 

"11 

Aver- 

Rings from  periphery. 

to 

to 

to 

age 
for 
total. 

10 

20 
44 

40     42 

38 

35 

80 

44 

100 
66 

no 
43 

120 
43 

130 

5?. 

140 
.S6 

150 
48 

160 
46 

170 

48 

180 
43 

47 

200 
47 

210 
5? 

220 

45 

230 
4? 

236 
(l15 

Section  1, 3  feet  from  ground. 

45  1,32 

45 

.IIS 

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28 

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24 

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26 

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24 

35 

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49 

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31 

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33 

43 

34 

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40 

31 

34 

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33 

33 

31 

22 

51 

i>6 
4^ 

.545 

Section   VU,  70   feet   from 

1 

23 
.51 

16 

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18 
.49 

20 
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16 

.43 

20 

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18 
.49 

26 

21 
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24 

.5S 

19 
.49 

19 

.4« 

22 

.51 

16 
.48 

18 
.49 

C2 
.41 

.... 

.490 

a  Six  rings  next  to  pith. 
The  obaerveil  values  of  specific  grav 


6Two  rings.  cOne  ring. 

■  for  the  three  sections  are  0.700,  0.560,  and  0.490,  respectively. 


It  will  be  noticed  that  the  greatest  difference  between  the  calculated  aud  the  actual  value  of 
specific  gravity  occurs  in  the  section  at  the  stump.  This  is  fully  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
large  amounts  of  resin,  not  considered  in  tlie  values  of  summerwood  per  cent,  always  occur  in 
this  portiou,  adding  from  5  to  20  per  cent  to  the  weight  of  the  wood. 


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Decades  of  Rings  from  periphery  . 

Fig.  14. — Variation  of  specitic  gravity  with  aninmerwood  per  cent  and  age  of  section  in  Lougleaf  Pine,  the  solid  lines  referring  to  a  section 
3  feet  from  the  ground,  the  dotted  lines  to  one  14  feet  from  the  ground.  (Specific  gravity  as  actually  observed  on  pieces  of  1  inch  radial 
extent.) 

In  stunted  trees  the  summerwood  forms  nearly  as  great  a  per  cent  of  the  total  volume  for 
the  whole  tree  as  in  thrifty  trees  of  the  same  age,  but  in  the  stunted  growth,  or  extremely  narrow 
ringed  portion  of  otherwise  uormal  trees,  the  per  cent  of  summerwood  is  markedly  decreased,  a 
feature  which  becomes  conspicuous  iu  the  lighter  color  of  the  wood  of  such  portions.  (See 
diagram,  fig.  15.)  Where,  on  the  other  hand,  the  rate  of  growth  in  an  old  tree  is  suddenly 
increased  by  the  acces.sibility  of  more  light,  for  instance,  the  summerwood  per  cent  also  is 
disproportionately  increased,  but  this  dis])roportioii  appears  to  be  more  transient,  i.  e.,  a  decrease 
in  the  summerwood  per  cent  sets  in  sooner  than  for  the  rate  of  growth  or  the  width  of  the  rings. 
(See  fig.  15.)  In  .some  of  the  rapidly  grown  Loblolly  and  Spruce  Pine  the  summerwood  forms  but 
a  small  part  of  the  first  ten  to  twenty  years'  growth,  and  in  all  cases  the  first  few  rings  about  the 
pith  have  but  little  summerwood.  In  general,  the  summerwood  per  ceut  varies  in  the  several 
species  as  well  as  in  the  individual  with  the  weight  of  the  wood,  which  is  least  in  the  Spruce  Pine, 
greatest  in  Cuban  and  Longleaf  Pine,  and  stands  between  these  in  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf.  It 
furni.shes  a  very  useful  criterion  to  distinguish  between  these  groups  and  especially  to  select 
strong  timber. 


148 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


In  the  limb  tbe  summerwood  is  most  abundant  in  the  knot  (all  wood  practically  partaking- 
of  the  cbara(!ter  of  summerwood,  at  least  as  far  as  tbe  thickness  of  cell  walls  is  concerned)  and 
in  the  part  next  to  the  stem,  decreasing  with  the  distance  from  the  trunk.  As  might  be  expected, 
it  also  forms  a  larger  per  cent  of  the  wood  of  tbe  underside  of  limbs  and  the  concave  portions  of 
bent  trunks. 


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IS      19       SO       2l\ 

Decades    of  Rings   from    pei'iphcry  • 

Fig.  15.— Variation  of  summerwood  i>er  cent  with  rate  of  growth  (width  of  rius),  in  tree  Xo.  3,  Loiigk-.if  rinc. 
Note — Only  the  heavj-  line  represents  summerwood  per  cent;  the  others  indicate  the  actual  width  of  the  rin;.'s  (ni.|i.i  i.Mir.  and  ..i'  ilie 
It.Tnd  of  summerwood  {lower  pair). 

GRAIN    OF    THE    ^VOOD. 

Tliough  usually  quite  straight  grained,  tbe  wood  of  these  species  is  by  no  means  always  so. 
Spiral  growth  leading  to  "cross-grained"  lumber  occurs  frequently,  is  usually  more  ijronouuced 
in  tbe  basal  portions  of  the  tree,  and  commonly  varies  from  pith  to  bark  in  the  same  log.  Wavy 
grain  resembling  that  of  the  maple  (curly  maple)  has  not  been  observed,  but  an  irregular  wavy 
grain,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  surface  of  the  trunk  for  many  years  is  covered  with  small,  low 
eminences,  1  to  a  few  inches  across,  is  frequently  seen,  especially  in  Longleaf  Pine,  and  leads  to 
remarkably  pretty  patterns.  Unfortunately  the  contrast  of  spring  and  summer  wood  being  so 
very  ijronouuced,  tbe  figures  are  somewhat  obtrusive,  and,  therefore,  not  fully  appreciated. 

MINUTE   ANATOMY. 

The  minute  structure  or  histology  of  the  wood  of  the  five  species  under  consideration  is  that 
of  a  group  whose  position  in  a  general  classifi(;ation  of  the  wood  of  pines  is  indicated  in  the  follow- 
ing scheme,  suggested  by  Dr.  J.  Schroeder,  and  more  completely  by  Dr.  H.  Mayr,'  in  which  they 
appear  as  jjart  of  group  2  of  Section  I. 

'  Dr.  J.  Schroetlcr,  Holz  tier  Couiferen,  Dresden, 
cben,  1890,  \^.  426. 


p.  65;  Dr.  II.  Mayr,  Waldiiugeu  von  Nordanierik.i 


MICROSCOPICAL    STRUCTURE. 


149 


Section  I.   Walls  of  the  tracheitis  of  the  jtith  ray  with  ileutate  projections. 

«.  One  to  two  large,  simple  pits  to  each  tracheid  on  the  radial   walls  of  the  cells  of  th 

Represented  in  this  country  by  P.  resinosa. 
h.  Three  to  six  simple  pits  to  each  tracheid  on  the  walls  of  the  cells  of  the  pith  ray. 

palustris,  etc.,  inclnding  most  of  our  "  hard  "  and  "  yellow  "  2 

pines. 
Section  II.  Walls  of  tracheids  of  pith  ray  smooth,  without  dentate 

projections. 
a.  One  or  two  large  pits  to  each  tracheid  on  the  radial  walls  of 

each  cell  of  the  pith  ray. — Group  3.  /'.  atrobus,  lamleriimia, 

and  other  true  white  pines. 
6.  Three  to  six  small  pits  on  the  radial  walls  of  each  cell  of  the 

pith  ray. — Group  4.  P.  parryava,  and  other  nut  pines,  inclnd 

ing  also  /'.  halfouriatui. 


•ith  ray.— G 
iroup  2.    /', 


oup  1. 
tiKiIa, 


^ 


Fig  Ifi.  — Schematic  representation  of  coniferous  ivood 
structure:  wuoil  of  spruce — 1,  uatuntt  size:  2,  small 
part  of  one  ring  mjignifled  100  times.  The  vertical 
tubes  are  wood  fibers,  in  this  case  all  "tracheids," 
»(,  nu'dullary  or  pith  ray;  ?i,  transverse  tracheids  of 
pith  ray:  a,  6,  and  c,  bordered  pits  of  the  tracheids 
more  enlarged. 


The  general  features  of  structure  of  coniferous  woocL-^ 
are  represented  iu  the  accompanying  cut  (fig.  10). 

The  structural  elements,  as  in  all  pine,  are  few  and 
simple  and  consist  of  (a)  tracheids,  the  common  wood 
fibers,  forming  over  90  per  cent  of  the  volume;  (b)  medul- 
lary or  i)ith  rays,  minute  cell  aggregates  composed  of  two 
kinds  of  cells,  scarcely  visible  without  magnifier  and  then 
only  on  the  radial  section,  yet  forming  about  7  to  8  per 
cent  of  the  volume  and  weight  of  the  wood  in  these  spe- 
cies; {c)  resin  ducts,  small  passages  of  irregular  length 
surrounded  by  resin-secreting  cells,  scattered  through  the 
wood,  but  forming  two  more  or  less  connected  systems, 
one  running  in  the  direction  of  the  fibers,  the  other  at 
right  angles  to  the  first,  the  individual  ducts  of  the  latter  system  always  occupying  the  middle 
portion  of  medullary  rays  (see  PI.  XXVII). 

The  tracheids,  or  common  wood  fibers,  are  alike  in  all  five  species,  and  resemble  those  of 
other  pines;  they  are  slender  tubes,  4.5  to  6  mm.  (about  one- 
fourth  inch)  long,  forty  to  one  hundred  times  as  long  as 
thick,  usually  hexagonal  in  cross  section,  with  sharp  or  more 
or  less  rounded  outlines  (see  PI.  XXI),  ttattened  in  tangen- 
tial direction  at  both  ends  (see  PI.  XXI,  A/),  the  diameter 
in  radial  direction  being  45  to  35  /.t  (about  0.002  inch)  in  the 
springwood,  and  about  half  that,  or  21  to  25  //,  in  the  sum- 
merwood,  and  in  tangential  direction  about  40  /;  on  the  average 
iu  their  middle.  They  are  arranged  iu  regular  radial  rows 
(see  PI.  XXI),  which  are  continuous  through  an  indefinite 
number  of  rings,  but  the  number  of  rows  iiicreasiug  every 
year  to  accommodate  the  increasing  circumference  of  the 
growing  stem.  (See  PI.  XXI,  C  c.)  The  fibers  of  the  same 
row  are  practically  conterminous,  i.  e.,  they  all  have  about 
the  same  length,  though  at  their  ends  they  are  often  bent, 
slightly  distorted,  and  usually  separated  (see  PI.  XXI,  B  c; 
also  fig.  17),  their  iieiglibors  filling  out  Ihe  interspaces.  There 
is  no  constant  difference  iu  the  dimensions  of  these  fibers 
Fig.  17.-CV11  endings  ,n  pine.  .^^  ^^^  diflerent  spccies  here  considered.    In  every  tree  the 

fibers  are  shortest  and  smallest  near  the  pith  of  any  section,  rapidly  increasing  in  size  from  the 
pith  outward,  and  reaching  their  full  size  in  about  the  tentli  to  twentieth  ring  from  the  pith. 
To  illustrate:  In  a  section  of  Longleaf  Pine,  10  feet  from  the  ground,  the  diameter  of  tracheids 
in  radial  direction  is  iu  /(=0.001  mm: 


150 


TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    UNITED    STATES. 


Number  of 

l^^oS^- 

Summer- 
wood. 

Average. 

1 

10 
24-33 
44-53 

'^24 
34 
45 
43 
50 
52 
52 
52 

''l5 
23 
24 
26 

i 

27 

''24 
32 
40 
30 

36 
36 
37 

As  usual  in  couifers,  the  tracbeids  are  largest  in  the  roots  and  smallest  in  the  limbs.  In  these 
pines,  especially  in  Longleaf  Pine,  they  are  larger  in  well-grown  wood  than  in  that  of  e.^tremely 
stunted  trees,  though  verj'  narrow  rings  in  otherwise  normal  trees  do  not  share  this  diminutive  size 
of  the  tracheid.  (See  fig.  18,  A  and  B,  where  a  few  very  narrow  rings  are  made  up  of  elements  of 
normal  size.) 


i^XJ 


Tlie  f  )I1 
and  that  of 
examined: 


Fin.  18.— Cross  section  of  normal  and  stunted  growth  in  L<.ngleaf  Pine. 

owing  average  figures  illustrate  the  difierence  between  wood  from  very  stunted  trees 
normal  trees  in  Longleaf  Pine,  of  which  we  give  an  average  from  an  extensive  series 


Number  of 

tree. 

Age. 

witt^o^ffng. 

Radial  diam- 
eter of  tra- 
cbeids in 

n"o?rrm'. 

Character  of 
tree. 

'     4 
5 
G 
7 

86 
00- 
70 
08 

MUUmeters. 

0.4-0.5     ;              31-36 
.  4                  30-36 

2:0                     "52 

Stunted. 

Do. 

Do. 
Normal. 

DESCRIPTION    OF    WOODY    TISSUES.  151 

As  soon  as  the  average  width  of  the  annual  rings  gets  above  0.5  mm.  the  dimensions  of  the 
elements  approach  the  normal.  Thus,  in  trees  Nos.  1  and  2,  with  average  width  of  annual  rings 
0..5  to  0.0  mm.,  the  average  diameter  of  the  tracheids  in  radial  direction  is  3.5  to  48  /(. 

Normally,  the  diameter  in  radial  direction  is  greatfist  in  the  first-formed  or  inner  jjart  of  any 
ring,  and  decreases  even  before  the  summerwood  is  reached.  In  narrow  rings  with  an  abrupt 
beginning  of  the  summerwood,  so  common  in  these  Southern  pines,  the  diameter  is  quite  con- 
stant throughout  the  springwood,  but  changes,  together  with  the  thickness  of  the  wall,  quite 
suddenly  with  the  beginning  of  the  summerwood,  thus  adding  to  the  sharpness  of  the  outlines  of 
the  two  parts.  (See  PI.  XXI;  also  flg.  IS,  B,)  In  nearly  all  sections  there  is  an  additional  marked 
decrease  in  radial  diameter  in  the  last  3  to  .5  cells  of  each  row,  which  helps  to  emphasize  the  limits 
of  the  ring.  In  the  so-called  "false"  rings,  mentioned  before,  the  cells  of  the  false  summerwood 
part  resemble  those  of  the  normal  summerwood.  The  recognition  of  the  false  ring  as  such  rests 
upon  the  difference  in  shape  and  dimensions  of  the  last  cell  rows  in  comi)arisou  with  tho.se  adjoin- 
ing. In  the  true  summerwood  the  last  cells  are  much  flattened,  with  small  lumen  and  somewhat 
reduced  walls  making  a  sharp  definition  toward  the  springwood  of  the  next  ring,  which  is  still 
further  accentuated  by  the  wide  lumen  and  thin  wall  of  the  cells  of  the  latter.  In  the  "false" 
summerwood,  on  the  contrary,  the  end  cells  are  not  flattened,  and  the  cells  of  the  light-colored 
adjoining  zone  of  wood  have  but  a  moderately  wide  lumen  and  comparatively  thick  walls. 
The  fact  that  the  outline  is  less  regular  and  commonly  incomplete — i.  e.,  it  does  not  extend 
around  the  entire  section — also  aids  in  recognizing  the  false  rings.  In  the  "lunes"  of  both  limb 
and  stem  referred  to  above  the  fibers  are  smaller,  more  rounded  in  cross  section,  and  commonly 
exhibit  conspicuous  intercellular  spaces  between  them.  The  walls  of  these  are  often  much  thicker 
than  those  of  the  summerwood  of  the  same  ring  at  this  point.  Since  the  radial  diameter  of  the 
fibers  of  the  summerwood  is  only  about  one-half  as  great  as  that  of  the  springwood,  it  is  clear  that 
the  number  of  fibers  of  the  summerwood  forms  a  much  greater  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of 
fibers  than  is  indicated  in  the  per  cent  of  .summerwood  given  above  and  based  upon  its  relative 
width.  Thus,  in  wood  having  50  per  cent  of  summerwood  there  are,  in  number,  twice  as  many 
tracheids  in  the  summerwood  as  in  the  springwood. 

The  walls  of  the  cells  are  generally  about  3  to  3J  n  thick  in  the  springwood,  while  in  the 
summerwood  they  are  G  to  7  //  thick  on  the  tangential  side  and  8  to  11  /( thick  on  the  radial  side 
of  the  fiber.  Generally  it  may  be  said  thiit  the  thickness  varies  inversely  as  the  extent  of 
the  wall,  i.  e.,  the  greater  any  diameter  the  thinner  the  walls  parallel  to  this  diameter,  which 
gives  the  impression  that  each  cell  is  furnished  an  equal  quantum  of  material  out  of  which 
to  construct  its  house  and  had  the  tendency  of  giving  an  equal  amount  to  each  of  its  four  or 
six  sides. 

Generally  the  absolute  width  of  the  ring  does  not  aftect  the  thickness  of  the  cell  walls,  the 
fibers  of  wide  rings  having  no  thicker  walls  than  those  of  narrow  rings,  but  when  the  growth  of 
a  tree  is  unusually  suppressed,  so  that  the  rings  are  less  than  0.5  mm.  (0.02  inch)  wide  and  each 
row  consists  of  only  a  few  fibers,  the  walls  of  the  fibers  of  the  summerwood,  like  those  of  the  last- 
formed  2  or  3  fibers  of  normal  rings,  are  thinner,  so  that  in  these  cases  the  wood  is  lighter  in 
color  and  weight  not  only  because  there  is  relatively  less  summerwood,  but  also  because  the 
fibers  of  this  summerwood  have  thinner  walls.  (See  flg.  18,  A  and  B.)  In  very  stunted  trees, 
where  the  rings  are  all  very  narrow,  the  reduced  thickness  of  the  walls  is  counterbalanced  by 
the  smaller  size  of  the  cells. 

All  tracheids  communicate  with  each  other  by  means  of  the  characteristic  "bordered"  pitsj 
the  structure  of  which  is  shown  in  fig.  16.  These  pits  occur  only  on  the  radial  walls  of  the  fibers. 
They  are  most  abundant  near  the  ends  of  each  fiber,  fewest  in  the  middle,  form  broken  rows, 
single  or  occasionally  double.  (PI.  XXIII.  C.)  As  in  other  pines  the  pits  of  the  summerwood  differ 
in  api)earance  from  tho.se  of  the  springwood.  In  the  latter  the  pit  appears  in  the  cell  lumen 
(radial  view)  as  a  perforated  saucer-like  eminence;  in  the  former  as  a  mere  cleft,  elongated  in  the 
direction  of  the  longer  axis  of  the  fiber.  (See  PI.  XXI,  B,  d  and  e:  PI.  XXIV,  D,  d  and  E,  «.)  In 
both  the  essential  part  of  the  i)it  is  similar,  a  circular  or  oval  cavity  resembling  a  double  convex 
lens,  with  a  thin  membrane  dividing  it  into  two  equal  plano-convex  parts.  (This  membrane  is 
shown  only  in  the  drawings,  PI.  XXIV,  D  and  E.)     In  keeping  with  the  small  radial  diameter  of 


152  TIMBER    PINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN'    UNITED    STATES. 

tbe  fibers  of  the  summerwood,  these  pits  are  much  smaller  iii  the  summerwood  than  spriiig:wood, 
and  nsually  are  very  much  fewei-  in  number. 

The  simple  pits  are  in  sets  and  occur  only  at  the  points  where  the  fiber  touches  the  cells 
of  a  medullary  ray.  (See  fig.  17,  also  PI.  XXIV,  E,  sp.,  and  other  figures  of  this  plate  and 
PI.  XXV.)  Above  and  below  these  simple  pits  occur  very  small  bordered  pits,  communicating 
with  those  of  the  short  transverse  fibers  or  tracheids  which  form  part  of  all  medullary  rays. 
(See  PI.  XXir,  D,  h.  p.) 

As  in  all  pines,  the  medullary  or  pith  rays  are  of  two  kinds,  the  one  small,  1  cell  wide,  and 
1  to  10 — in  large  averages  5  to  7 — cells  high;  the  other  large,  and  each  containing  in  the  middle 
part  a  transverse  resin  duct.  (See  Pis.  XXII,  XXIII,  XXV,  and  XXVII.)  Of  the  former  there 
occur  about  21  to  27  on  each  square  millimeter  (about  15,000  per  square  inch)  of  tangential 
section.  The  second  class  are  much  less  abundant  and  scattered  very  irregularly,  so  that 
sometimes  areas  of  several  square  millimeters  are  found  without  any  of  these  rays.  Generally 
about  one  of  these  rays  occurs  to  every  1.5  or  2  square  millimeters,  or  about  300  to  400  per  square 
inch  of  tangential  section.  In  all  rays  the  cell  rows  forming  the  upper  and  lower  edge  (see 
PI.  XXIII)  are  composed  of  short  fibers  or  tracheids  (transverse  tracheids),  while  the  inner  rows 
contain  only  parenchyma  cells.  Occasionally  small  rays  occur  which  are  composed  of  tracheids 
only.  (See  PI.  XXII,  C.)  Frequently  the  rows  of  parenchyma  are  separated  by  one,  rarely  by  two, 
series  of  tracheids  (see  PI.  XXIV,  D,  and  PI.  XXV,  D),  giving  rise  to  "double"  or  "triple"  rays. 

The  number  of  cell  rows  in  each  medullary  or  pith  ray  varies  from  2  to  10,  on  an  average  from 
5  to  7,  and  of  these  the  rows  of  tracheids  or  fibers  form  more  than  half.  (See  PI.  XXVI,  where 
the  outer  cells  or  tracheids  are  marked  with  dots.) 

The  tracheids  of  the  rays  have  thick  walls  covered  with  point-  and  bar-like  projections,  the 
boldest  of  which  are  on  the  upper  and  lower  walls  and  surround  the  bordered  pits.  (See  Pis.  XXII 
and  XXIII.)  These  short  tracheids  communicate  with  the  common  wood  fibers,  with  each  other, 
as  well  as  with  the  parenchyma  cells,  by  means  of  small  bordered  pits,  which  in  this  last  case  are 
bordered  on  one  side  (side  of  the  tracheid)  and  simple  on  the  other  (half  bordered  pits.)  The 
parenchyma  cells  occupying  the  inner  rows  of  each  ray  communicate  in  the  springwood  part  of 
the  ring  with  each  neighboring  tracheid  by  3  to  6,  commonly  ■!  to  5,  simple  elliptical  pits,  in  the 
summerwood  by  a  single  narrow,  elongated  slit-like  pit  (see  Pis.  XXII  and  XXIII),  and  with  each 
other  by  small,  irregular,  scattered  simple  pits. 

The  walls  of  these  cells  are  generally  smooth,  but  local  thickenings,  especially  on  the  upper 
and  lower  walls  and  surrounding  the  pits,  occur  quite  frequently,  though  not  regularly. 

The  parenchyma  cells  of  the  rays  are  usually  somewhat  broader  and  higher  than  the  fibers, 
the  average  height  for  both  being  about  2 1  to  27  //,  the  average  width  about  20  //,  while  the  length 
of  each  cell  and  fiber,  greater  in  springwood,  and  least  in  the  summerwood,  is  from  two  to  ten  times 
as  great  as  the  height.  Assuming  25  /<  and  20  //  to  represent  the  average  height  and  width,  and 
allowing  25  rays  of  C  cell  rows  each  to  each  square  millimeter  of  tangential  section,  then  the  rays 
form  about  7.5  per  cent  of  the  total  volume  and  weight  of  the  wood  of  these  species.  An  attempt 
to  utilize  for  purposes  of  identification  the  difference  in  the  number,  size,  and  distribution  of 
these  rays,  or  the  proportion  between  the  number  of  rows  of  tracheids  and  those  of  parenchyma 
cells,  as  was  done  by  Dr.  J.  Schroeder,'  has  not  been  successful,  and  appears  of  little  promise. 

The  large  rays  with  transverse  resin  ducts  resemble  the  smaller  rays  described.  On  PI.  XXV 
at  A  such  a  ray  is  seen  both  in  radial  and  tangential  section.  Series  of  transverse  tracheids 
occujjy  the  upper  and  lower  edge,  but  the  interior,  unlike  that  of  common  rays,  is  several 
cells  wide,  and  contains  an  open  duct  in  its  widest  portion.  (See  PI.  XXVII,  r.  rf.)  This  duct 
is  commonly  more  or  less  tilled  with  resin  ^see  PI.  XXVII,  E);  it  is  surrounded  by  thin-walled 
secreting  cells,  and,  in  the  heart  wood,  often  divided  or  filled  up  by  thylosis,  i.  e.,  by  very  thin- 
wallod,  much  puffed-out  cells,  growing  out  of  the  surrounding  secreting  cells  before  the  latter 
perish. 

The  walls  of  the  secreting  cells  are  quite  thin,  those  of  the  remainder  of  the  parenchyma 
vary  to  some  extent  in  the  different  species.  In  the  Longleaf  and  Loblolly  Pines  the  walls  of  the 
parenchyma  composing  the  principal  part  of  the  ray  are  generally  (juite  thick  (see  PI.  XXVII,  A-E), 

'Dr.  Julius  Schroeder,  Das  Holz  der  Coniferen,  Dresden,  1872. 


RESIN    DUCTS.  153 

thicker  tbau  those  of  the  cells  of  ordinary  rays,  and  especially  thickened  near  the  simple  pits  by 
which  these  cells  communicate  with  each  other.  In  Cuban  and  Shortleaf  this  thickening  is  niucb 
less  conspicuous,  and  absent  entirely  in  many  cases  (see  PI.  XXV,  A),  while  in  the  Spruce  Pine  it 
seems  wanting  altogether. 

These  ducts  exist  even  iu  the  very  first  ring  (next  to  the  pith),  are  smaller  and  more  numerous 
near  center,  but  have  essentially  the  same  structure  in  the  wood  of  the  fifth  and  later  years. 

The  tracheids  of  the  pith  rays  are  wanting  next  to  the  pith,  but  occur  in  all  rays  in  the  outer 
part  of  even  the  first  ring.  The  rays  in  this  ring  are  generally  lower,  composed  of  fewer  cell  rows, 
bat  the  cells  are  larger  then  in  the  rest  of  the  wood. 

Both  shape  and  size  of  these  medullary  rays  are  very  variable;  an  average  of  about  0.4  mm. 
for  the  height  of  the  ray  and  60  /<  for  the  width  at  the  resin  duct  was  observed.  An  attempt  to 
utilize  the  shape,  especially  the  appearance  of  the  two  edges,  as  a  means  of  separating  the  wood 
of  these  species  has  so  far  failed  entirely. 

The  large  resin  ducts  running  lengthwise  in  the  wood  or  parallel  to  the  common  wood  fibers 
are  much  larger  than  the  transverse  ducts,  measuring,  inclusive  of  the  .secretive  cells,  on  an 
average  about  0.2  mm.  (0.008  inch)  on  their  smaller  radial  diameter  and  about  0.3  mm.  on  the 
tangential.  (See  PI.  XXI,  A,  r.  d.)  They  are  usually  situated  iu  the  summerwood  of  each  ring, 
often  iu  narrow  rings,  causing  an  irregular  outline.  They  are  smaller  and  more  numerous  near 
the  pith,  here  usually  forming  several  series  in  one  annual  ring,  more  numerous  iu  wide  rings 
tbau  in  narrow  ones,  but  their  number  per  square  inch  of  cro.ss  section  as  well  as  their  dimensions 
appear  to  be  independent  of  the  width  of  the  rings.  Iu  their  structure  they  resemble  those  of 
other  pines.  They  are  surrounded  by  thin-walled  resin-secreting  parenchyma,  part  of  which 
often  appears  as  if  not  directly  connected  with  the  duct.  (See  PI.  XXI,  A.)  In  many  cases  all 
the  tissue  between  two  neighboring  ducts  is  of  this  parenchyma.  Longitudinal  and  transverse 
ducts  frequently  meet  and  thus  form  a  continuous  network  of  ducts  throughout  the  wood. 


PLATE  XXI.— CROSS  SECTIONS. 

A,  Pints  t.eda,  'f.     i:  d.,  resiu  duct;  s.  c,  secreting  cells;  m.  r.,  medullary  rays;  a,  section  of  transverse  tracheid  of 
•         ray  ;  ft,  tbe  ray  leaves  the  jilaiu  of  the  section  at  this  point,  small  parts  of  it  reappearing  further  on ;  c,  simple 

pits  connecting  parenchyma  cells  of  the  ray;    rf-e,  jiart  of  a  row  of  tracheids  formed  during  one  season; 
/,  flattened  terminal  part  of  a  tracheid. 

B,  PiNUS  HETEROPHYLLA,  ^V".     sp.  w.,  springwood ;  sii.  10.,  summerwood;  a-b,  part  of  a  row  of  tracheids  formed 

during  one  season ;  c,  terminal  parts  of  tracheids;  (?,  hordered  pit  in  springwood;  e,  same  in  summerwood; 
other  letters  as  in  J. 

C,  PiNts  GLABRA,  -"^p.     c,  TOW  of  tracheids  douhled;  other  letters  as  in  B. 

Originals,  all  ■^"''. 
154 


1  1 ' 

i 

Typical  Cross  Sections  of  Pinus  t/eda,  heterophylla,  and  glabra. 


25666— No.  13—02 12 


PLATE  XXII. 

A,  PiNUS  ECHINATA.     Cross  Section  of  two  rings;  sp.  ii\,  spritigwood;  »».  w.,  snmnii'iwood. 

Ji,  Pints  palustris.     Cross  section  of  a  very  narrow  ring.     Ot'tlie  two  medullary  rays  one  is  cut  tlirougli  a  row  of 

parenchyma,  the  other  through  a  row  of  tracheids. 
C  au,d  D,  PINU.S  GLABRA.     Kadial  sectious ;  m.r.,  medullary  rays;  ir.,  tracheids  of  the  medullary  rays;  j).,pareuchynia 

of  the  same;  8.  j).,  simple  pits  leading  from  the  parenchyma  to  the  neighboring  tracheids  or  common  fibers 

c.  tr  ;  b.  p.,  bordered  pit.     The  ray  at  C  is  made  up  of  tracheids  only. 
E,  PiNUS  TALl'STRis.     Radial  section;  lettering  as  in  D. 

Originals  magnified :  -J,  ^J"!,  the  rest  ^?"  ;  illustrations:  -J,  ^f";  the  rest  ^'(o. 
156 


SUM'. 


Typical  Cross  Sections  of  Pinus  palustris  and  echinata,  and  Radial  Sections  of  Pinus  palustris  and  glabra. 


PLATE  XXIII— RADIAL  SECTIONS. 

J  and  S,  PiNUS  ECHINATA.     m.  )•.,  medullary  rays;  j).,  parenchyma  of  same;  fc,  tiansverse  traclieids  of  rays 

simple  pits;  h.  p.,  bordered  pits;  c.  tr.,  common  tracheids. 
C,  PiNUS  IIETEROPHYLLA.     »H.  ]('.,  summcrwood;  other  letters  as  in  A. 
Originals  magnified  ^f?;  illustrationB,  *{". 
158 


13,  Division  of  Forestry. 


B 


c.tr. 


Radial  Sections  of  Pinus  echinata  and  h 


PLATE  XXIV.— RADIAL  AND  TANGENTIAL  SECTIONS. 

A  and  Jl,  Pints  t.eda.     Kailial  .sectious;  m.  »-.,  moilullary  rays ;  ii:,  tracheida;  p.,   parenchyma  of  the  rays; 

simple  pit;  b.  p.,  bordered  pit;  c.  tr.,  commou  tracheids. 
C-E,  tangeutial  sections. 

C,  Pixus  PALUSTltls.     Left-hand  part  in  springwood,  right-hand  ]>ortion  in 
D-E,  PiNUS  ECiiiNATA.     1),  Section  in  springwood;  «-c,  medullary  rays;  », 
c,  a  "tripple"  ray;  rf,  bordered  pit  showing  the  membrane  in  place. 
pit,  other  letters  as  in  A  and  II. 
Magniiication  of  originals,  ^f;  of  illustrations:  A  and  B,  -{'i;  C-E,  '^'P 
160 


lumnicrwood. 

I  small  ray  composeil  of  tr: 

icheids  only ; 

li,  Section  i.i  summerwood 

:  ((,  bordered 

111/         -  D 

Radial  Sections  of  Pinus  t/eda  and  tanqential  Sections  of  Pinus  palustris  and  echinata. 


PLATE  XXV. 

A,  Pixus  HETEROPHYLLA.     Radial  and  tangential  sections  of  a  transverse  resin  duet;  r.  d.,  resin  duct;  m.  r..  medul- 
lary ray;  ir.,  tracheids  of  tlie  medullary  ray;  p.,  parenchyma  cells  of  the  same;  e.  Ii\,  comuion  tracheids  or 
wood  fibers. 
I1~G,  PiNUS  r.LABR.\.     B,  tangential  section  of  a  transverse  resin  duct  and  parts  of  three  libers;  h.  p.,  bordered  pit; 
other  letters  as  above;  C-G,  tangential  sections  of  medullary  rays,  of  which   K  is  made  up  of  traiheids  only, 
while  D  is  a  "triple"  ray. 
IT,  PiNUS  T.EDA.     Tangential  sections  of  medullary  rays  in  spring  and  summer  wood. 
Original  magniKed  500  times,  illustrations  about  •'y". 
162 


Bulletin  No.  13,  Division  of  Forestry. 


Tangential  Sections  of  Pinus  t/eda,  heterophylla,  and  glabra. 


25666— No.  13—02 13 


PLATE  XXVI.— TANGENTIAL  SECTIONS. 
A-C  and  F,  PiNUS  HKTEROPHYLLA.      D,  PlXrS  KCIUNATA.      E,  PiN'US   GLAIiUA. 

A-C,  sections  of  mudullary  rays;  /c,  tracheitis;  p.,  imreuchyma;  C  is  a  "double"  ray. 

In  J)-F,  liistological  details  are  omitted;  they  are  camera  drawings  showing;  number  and  distribution  of  medullary 
rays,  and  also  the  proportion  of  the  tracheids  to  parenchyma  in  each  ray,  the  former  being  indicated  by  dots; 
)•.  d.,  transverse  resin  ducts;  m.  r.,  medullary  rays. 
Maguiiication  of  originals:  A-C,  ^f"  ;  D-F,  Sf^;  of  illustrations :  A-C,  ^JU;  D-F,  "f. 
164 


1  No.  13,  Division  of  Forestry. 


ir. 


r.d.- 


M 


ir. 


r.d 


-Ir.  M 


Tangential  Sections  of  Pinus  echiinata.  heterophylla,  and  glabra,  showing  Number  and  Distribution  of 
Pith  Rays  and  Proportion  of  Pith-ray  Cells. 


PLATE  XXVII.— TANGENTIAL  SECTIONS  OF  TRANSVERSE  RESIN  DUCTS. 

.l-r,  Pi.vu.s  TELA.     D  aud  li,  P.  i'alusikis.     F,  P.  echisata.      G,  p.  HISTEUOPHYLLA      c.  <h ,  resii 
transverse  tiacheids ;  jj.,  parenchyma. 
Maguifloatiquof  originals,  '^^o;  of  illustrations,  ^p. 


Plate  XXVII. 


Transverse  Resin  Ducts— Tangential  Views. 


OBSERVATIO^■S  OX  THE  MARSH  Oil  POM)  PINK, 

{Pinus  strotiii.i.) 


DiSTKIBtTTIOX. 

Botanical  J^escription. 
Peogkess  of  Development. 
Economic  Importance. 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MARSH  OR  POND  PINE. 

(Piiiiis  serotina.y 


By  FiLiBERT  Roth. 


DISTRIBUTION. 


The  Marsh  Pine  of  the  North  Carolina  woodman,  or  Pond  Pine  of  botanists,  is  a  common  tree 
of  the  pinery  along  the  Atlantic  coast  from  the  Albemarle  Sound,  in  North  Carolina,  to  the  head 
of  St.  Johns  liiver,  in  Florida,  and  occurs  also  on  the  west  side  of  the  peninsula  of  Florida  and 
along  the  Gulf  nearly  as  far  west  as  Pensacola.  In  jiassiug  on  a  train  through  the  Atlantic  coast 
pinery  this  tree  is  rarely  more  than  ten  minutes  out  of  sight,  and  generally  forms  small  groves, 
or  occurs  mixed  with  other  pines,  sometimes  over  areas  of  many  miles. 

In  North  Carolina,  especially  in  the  country  about  the  Albemarle  and  Pamlico  sounds,  this 
tree  is  associated  with  and  grows  to  the  same  dimensions  as  the  Loblolly  (Pinus  Ueda),  here 
known  as  Shortleaf  Pine;  is  cut  and  sold  indiscriminately  with  this  latter,  and  furnishes  about 
10  to  15  per  cent  of  the  lumber  known  in  the  market  as  North  Carolina  pine,  most  of  which  is  cut 
in  this  region.  From  Newbern  south  to  the  State  line  this  tree  occupies  the  low  "sags," often 
alone  or  with  Loblolly,  and  forms  a  conspicuous  admixture  of  the  open,  scrubby,  and  much-culled 
Longleaf  Pine  woods  which  cover  the  vast  Hats  along  the  railway.  lu  the  pinery  along  the  coast 
of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  the  east  half  of  the  peninsula  of  Florida  the  Pond  Pine  occupies 
all  low  tiats,  in  South  Carolina  largely  with  Loblolly,  and  in  Georgia  and  Florida  mostly  with 
Cuban  Pine.     It  also  forms  part  of  the  forests  along  the  shore,  also  covering  many  of  the  islands. 

Along  the  west  coast  of  Florida  it  is  not  so  common,  and  like  Cuban  Pine  is  wanting  in  many 
places  apparently  well  suited  to  its  growth.  From  Ocala  and  Dunnellon  up  to  Live  Oak  the  tree  is 
rarely  seen,  is  more  common  in  the  Hats  east  of  Tallahassee,  and  still  more  so  between  this  place 
and  Carabelle,  where  it  accompanies  Cuban  Pine.  West  of  the  Apalachicola  few  trees  were  seen, 
and  nearing  Pensacola  the  species  disappeared  entirely. 

In  North  Carolina  the  tree  is  well  known  to  woodmen,  and  is  distinguished  as  "Marsh  Pine," 
occasionally  as  "Meadow  Pine;"  but  in  the  towns  and  to  the  manufacturers  it  seems  generally 
unknown,  and  its  logs  are  never  recognized.  In  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  the  tree,  as  far  as 
observed,  is  not  well  known,  and  when  distinguished  at  all  bears  the  name  of  "Spruce  Pine,"  a  term 
which,  like  "Bull  Pine."  "Bastard  Pine,"  etc.,  is  commonly  resorted  to  to  hide  ignorance  in  the 
premises.  In  Florida,  south  of  Jacksonville,  where  the  little  Sand  Pine  ( Finua  clausa)  generally,  con- 
sistently, and  appropriately  receives  the  name  of  Spruce  Pine,  the  Pond  Pine  is  not  distinguished 
from  Loblolly,  both  passing  under  this  latter  name.  Where  it  grows  with  Loblolly,  as  in  the  forests 
of  North  Carolina  and  along  the  coast,  the  Pond  Pine  looks  very  much  like  Loblolly.  The  old  trees 
attain  the  same  height  and  thickness,  the  crown,  bark,  and  even  the  foliage  are  much  alike,  and 
the  only  striking  difference  is  in  the  cones.  Young  trees  of  Pond  Pine  are  not  distinguished 
from  Loblolly  even  by  observing  woodmen,  and  as  long  as  no  cones  are  borne  the  distinction  is 
not  easy.  But  besides  the  numerous  very  persistent  cones,  of  which  many  stay  firmly  closed  for 
several  seasons,  the  peculiarity  of  branching  out  from  the  stem  greatly  assists  in  recognizing  this 
tree  in  the  woods.  These  sprout  like  shoots  or  branches  often  cover  the  trunk  for  almost  its 
entire  length  in  a  manner  often  seen  in  Pitch  Pine  {Finns  rigkla)  and  also  in  the  true  Shortleaf 
Pine  {Finns  echinata).     In  old,  stunted  timber,  the  crown,  largely  in  consequence  of  this  branching, 

'These  observations  were  made  during  an  extensive  trip  through  the  South  in  the  spring  of  1897. 

169 


170  TLMHEi;    I'INKS    OF    THE    SOVTHKRN    UNITED    STATES. 

i.s  iinicli  modified  in  sliape;  becomes  eloiijiated,  oltcii  interrupted,  and  "straggly.'"  In  general,  tbe 
identification  is  not  difllcult  where  it  involves  merely  a  sejuiration  of  this  pine  from  its  common 
associates. 

BOTANICAL    DESCKIPTION. 

Botanically,  the    Pond  Pine  is  described  by  Mr.  Sudworth  as  I'ollows: 

Leaves  three  in  a  sheath  and  commonly  (!.^  to  7.^  (exceptionally  S  to  10)  inches  long.  Cones 
very  persistent,  often  remaining  on  the  branches  four  to  six  or  more  years.  Fresh,  mature  ones 
are  a  rich  russet-brown,  but  with  exposure  they  become  ashy  gray.  Many  cones  remain 
permanently  closed  (serotinous)  after  maturing,  while  others  open  freely.  Closed  coiies  ovate  or 
sometimes  rather  sharply  conical,  2  to  3  inches  long  and  li  to  li|  inches  in  diameter.  Open  cones 
with  strongly  rellexed  scale  and  very  characteristic  in  their  low,  broadly  pyramidal  outline,  the 
breadth  of  the  cone  usually  equaling  (sometimes  exceeding)  the  height.  Seeds  small  with  a 
narrow,  tawny  wing  (about  I'y  inch  wide  and  three-fourths  to  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  long); 
black  or  black-bro\.')i,  with  rough  and  tubcrcled  surface,  and  two  to  three  indistinct  longitudinal 
ridges. 

PROGRESS    OF    DEVELOPMENT. 

In  its  manner  of  growth  the  Pond  Pine  resembles  Loblolly  in  every  respect.  Like  that 
species,  it  is  quite  bushy  when  young;  shoots  up  rapidly;  makes  fine  poles;  clears  itself  well  if 
crowded;  forms  an  ample,  usually  elongated  crown  of  medium  size;  and  branches  with  numerous 
rather  fine  twigs.  Even  when  stunted  it  rarely  takes  on  the  flat  topped  form  so  often  met  iu 
scrubby  Longleaf  woods. 

The  following  examples  illustrate  its  rate  of  growth: 

An  abandoned  field  in  Georgetown  County,  S.  C,  a  few  miles  from  the  salt  marshes,  w:is 
covered  with  Loblolly  and  Pond  Pine.  Both  grew  with  equal  thrift,  but  on  account  of  too  open 
a  stand  formed  rather  large-crowned,  short-bodied  timber.  The  best  tree  of  Pond  Pine  measured 
2S  and  30  inches  diameter  on  the  stump  2  feet  from  the  ground  and  had  62  rings,  indicating  for 
this  tree  an  age  of  only  about  sixty-five  years.  Most  of  the  trees  measured  over  12,  more  than 
half  of  them  over  15  inches  diameter,  while  their  ages  were  generally  under  sixty  years.  In 
Bertie  County,  N.  C,  numerous  trees  were  observed  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  old,  20  to  30  inches  diameter,  and  90  to  110  feet  high,  furnishing  three  to  four  logs 
per  tree. 

In  keeping  with  this  rapid  growth,  the  sapwood  is  wide  and,  as  in  Loblolly  of  the  same 
localities,  forms  usually  over  00  per  cent  of  the  volume  of  the  merchantable  logs.  This  accounts 
for  the  fact  that,  outside  of  North  Carolina  and  a  few  places  of  South  Carolina  where  this  tree  is 
cut  into  boards,  the  wood  of  Pond  Pine  shares  the  general  prejudice  against  "  Sap  Pine,"  common 
throughout  the  lower  South. 

Pond  Pine  is  often  claimed  to  be  more  defective  than  Loblolly;  but  as  far  as  this  could  be 
ascertained  the  difference  is  not  great,  and  compared  with  White  Pine,  for  instance,  both  must  be 
pronounced  very  sound  timber. 

The  Pond  Pine  reproduces  itself  quite  readily  and,  like  I>oblolly,  eagerly  seizes  on  abandoned 
fields  wherever  sufficient  soil  moisture  exists.  Though  the  older  trees  are  commonly  loaded  with 
cones  and  thereby  make  the  impression  of  luxuriant  seed  production,  it  is  doubtful  if  this  i)ine 
equals  Loblolly  in  this  respect.  As  far  as  ol)served  the  young  trees  are  slower  to  bear,  and  entire 
groves  of  saplings  10  to  IJ  feet  high  are  often  without  fruit. 

In  this  connection  it  is  of  interest  that  this  pine  not  only  sends  out  vigorous  and  persistent 
shoots  from  the  older  parts  of  its  trunk  while  standing,  but  that  even  logs  if  left  on  the  ground 
continue  to  sprout,  5  to  10  shoots  often  breaking  through  the  bark  on  a  space  of  a  few  square 
inches,  and  still  more  that  the  stumps  of  small  trees  (1  to  2  inches  diameter),  whether  cut  or 
burned,  send  out  20  to  30  vigorous  shoots  during  one  season.  Generally  one  or  two  of  these  take 
the  lead  and  the  rest  die  off.  Whether  these  surviving  shoots  ever  grow  into  trees  of  any  size  is 
not  known,  the  tallest  trees  of  which  this  origin  could  be  clearly  demonstrated  being  only  about 
15  feet  high. 


J[AK.SH    OR    POXD    PINE.  171 

111  its  station  or  liabitat  tlie  Pond  Pine  is  at  present  limited  to  the  low,  wet,  saudy  flats;  it  is 
not  met  ou  dry,  sandj-,  rolling  pine  lands,  nor  does  it,  like  Loblolly,  take  to  the  rich  river  bottoms 
and  hammocks  or  the  fertile  red-clay  lands.  Its  name  is  misleading,  in  so  far  as  it  does  not,  like 
the  Cuban  Pine,  go  right  into  the  water  or  ponds.  On  constantly  overflowed  tracts,  like  the 
Okelinokee,  or  the  interior  of  cypress  ponds,  the  Pond  Pine  is  not  found.  As  to  its  associations, 
the  Pond  Pineisquite  independent,  (ieuerally  it  occurs  only  with  other  innes,  particularly  Loblolly 
in  the  northern  part  of  its  range  and  Cuban  Pine  farther  south;  but,  as  stated  before,  it  is  found 
with  Longleaf  on  the  vast  flats  of  southern  2^orth  Carolina,  and  also  mixed  with  liard  woods,  as  in 
eastern  iSTorth  Carolina.  It  is  rarelj'  alone  and  no  large  forests  of  Pond  Pine  seem  to  occur.  In 
Georgia  and  eastern  Florida  it  is  the  common  associate  of  Cubau  Pine,  where  this  latter  forms  the 
narrow  fringe  of  river  swamps  and  hammocks,  separating  often  by  only  a  few  rods  the  Longleaf 
from  the  cypress  and  hard  woods  of  these  tracts. 

ECONOMIC   ISirORTANCE. 

In  former  years  this  tree,  like  Loblolly  and  Shortleaf,  wi\^  not  bled  for  turpentine,  but  of  late 
the  scarcity  of  Longleaf  Pine  has  induced  the  people  of  South  Carolina  and  other  States  to  extend 
their  operations  even  to  these  less  remuneiative  species.  The  yield  from  Pond  Pine  is  fair  both 
in  quantitj- and  quality,  but  requires  more  labor,  the  "streak"  or  wound  requiring  renewal  at  least 
twice  a  week.  Operators  claim  that  the  tree  does  not  bleed  as  long  during  the  same  season  as 
the  Longleaf,  nor  does  it  endure  the  operation  for  as  many  seasons.  On  this  latter  point,  however, 
observations  are  as  yet  not  suflicient  to  warrant  generalizations.  With  its  ready  reproduction, 
rapid  growth  into  good  lumber-size  trees,  and  its  ability  to  occupy  poorly  drained,  otherwise  almost 
valueless  lands,  the  Pond  Pine  deserves  attention  in  all  future  forest  operations  of  its  region. 


IISTDEX 


Page. 

Age,  effect  on  pine  wood 17 

Alabama  central  pine  belt,  description 41 

Longleaf  Pine  forests,  description *      38 

nortli,  Longleaf  Pine  lorests,  description 41 

shipments  of  timber  and  lumber  in  1892 42 

Anatomy,  minute,  of  pine  wood 14ft 

Annual  rings  of  wood,  description 144 

false 131 

Atlantic  pine  region,  description 31 

Bleeding,  effect 21,72 

Botanical  description  and  morphology  of  Cuban  Pine 81 

Loblolly  Pine 121 

Longleaf  Pine 48 

of  Shortleaf  Pine 101 

SprucePine 138 

diagnosis  of  Principal  Southern  pines 12 

names  of  pines,  list 13 

Boxing,  effect 21 

Branch,  root,  and  stem  system  of  Loblolly  Pine 121 

Longleaf  Fine 49 

Brunswick,  Ga.,  exports  of  lumber  for  years  1884-1894 36 

Central  pine  belt  of  Alabama,  description 41 

(Character  of  wood  of  Southern  pines  compared 13 

Characteri-slics  of  distribution  in  different  regions  of  Shortleaf 

Pine 94 

Charcoal  burning,  use  of  Longleaf  Pine 48 

Charleston.  S.  C,  lumbertrade,  1880-1894 34 

number  of  barrels  and  t^ttal  value  of  rosin 

shipped,  1880-1894 33 

casks  and  total  value  of  spirits 

turpentine  shipped,  1880-1894. .  33 

tradj  in  naval  stores,  1880-1894 33 

Classification  and  nomenclature  of  Cuban  Pine 80 

Loblolly  Pine 121 

Longleaf  Pine 48 

Shortleaf  Pine 99 

of  rosin,  or  colophon}' 68 

Climate  and  soil,  elleitou  development  of  Longleaf  Pine 60 

required  by  Loblolly  Pino I'J 

Shortleaf  Pine loi 

Spruce  Pine 140 

suitable  to  growth  of  Cuban  Pine 88 

Colophony,  or  rosin,  descriptive  classificatiou 68 

Crude  turpentine,  amount  shipped  from  Wilmington,  N.  C, 

with  total  value,  1880-1894 ;....  32 

Cuban  Pine,  article  by  Charles  Mohr 77 

characteristics  of  wood S'l 

classification  and  nomenclature 8:i 

conditions  required  for  development 88 

description  and  mori)hological  characters 81 

of  flowers 81 

economic  importance 79 

geographical  distribution 89 

growth  by  decades  for  120  years 87 

from  4  to  20  years SO 

notes  on,  additional,  by  Filibert  Roth R9 

progress  of  development 85 

products 80 

rate  of  growth 85 

from  40  to  145  years 87 

req uiremen ts  of 88 

resinous  products 80 

synonyms,  scientific  and  common 13, 78 

Cubic  contents  of  Longleaf  Pine,  by  decades SO 

Darien,  Ga.,  export  of  lumber,  1884-1894 36 


Distillation  of  turpentine,  methods 

Enemies  of  Loblolly  Pine,  remarks 

Longleaf  Pine,  remarks 

Shortleaf  Pine,  remarks 

Spruce  Pine,  remarks 

Exploitation  methods,  inj  urious,  in  Longleaf  Pine  forests 

Exports  of  lumber  from  Savannah,  Brunswick,  Darienf  and  St. 

Marys,  1884-1894 

spirits  turpentine  and  rosin  from  Mobile,  1880-1894. 

timber  and  lumber  from  Pensacola,  1880-1893 

Mobile,  Ala.,  amount  and 

value,  1880-1894 

False  rings 

Fernow,  B.  r.,  introduction  to  bulletin 

Fire.in.iurvt.,  I.nn_-1r:it  Pin.- forests 

Florida,  e.i-i     n  I    :,.;     ;  liii.-  belt 

\\<--in   1 -ii^:.  .t;   I'iiie  forests, description 

Shortleaf  Pine,  description 

Longleaf  Pine,  description 

Forestry.  d»-scription 

Forests,  effect  of  pi. i.l  lures 

Loblolly  I'lIM    ;  :.  !    .  .hictiou 

t  j  eui  gia,  description 

Louisiana,  description 

,  Mississippi,  description 

Texas,  description 

in.jurious  methods  of  exploitation 

injury  from  fire 

livestock 

management 

natui  al  reproduction 

turpentine  orcharding 

Shortleaf  Pine,  management 

Fuel  value  of  Longleaf  Pine  wood 

Fungi  in.iurious  to  Longleaf  Pine 

Georgia  forest,  of  Longleaf  Pine,  description 

shipments  of  lumber,  1884-1894 

statistics  of  Longl^f  Pine 

Grain  of  the  pine  woods,  remarks 

Growth,  rate  compared 

Gulf  region,  eastern,  maritime  pine  belt,  description 

Heatt  and  sap  wood,  general  remarks 

Height  of  Longleaf  Pine,  by  decades 

History,  economic,  of  Loblolly  Pine 

of  Longleaf  Pine 

of  naval  stores  industry 

the  use  of  Loblolly  Pine' 

Shortleaf  Pine 

Insects  injurious  to  Longleaf  pine  trees 

Leaves  of  Loblolly  Pine.descriptiou 

Longleaf  Pine  and  their  modifications 

Shortleaf  Pine,  description 

Leaf  products  of  Longleaf  Pine 

Light,  relation  to  Loblolly  Pine  and  associated  species 

Shortleaf  Pine  and  associated  species 

Lightwood,  formation  and  uses 

Livestock  injury  to  Longleaf  Pine  forests 

Loblolly  Pine,  article  by  Charles  Mohr 

associated  species  and  relat  ion  to  light 

botanical  descrijitiiin 


174 


Li»l>li»Uy  I'iiif.  cuuditiuus  of  development 1-9 

description  of  flowers  and  leaves 123 

wood 123 

economic  importance 115 

enemies 130 

geographical  distribution  and  economic  history.  IIC 

growth,  by  decades,  to  120  years 129 

from  5  to  50  years 127 

50  to  150  years 128 

height,  diameter,  and  cubic  contents,  by  decades.  129 

liistory  of  its  use 115 

leaves,  description 123 

nieasurcmouts  of  trees  from  ditlVireut  regions.  118, 119 

nomenclature  and  classification 121 

notes  on,  additional,  by  Filibert  Kotli 133 

products 119 

progress  of  development 126 

rate  of  growth 120 

reproduction,  natural 131 

root,  stem,  and  branch  system 121 

soil.-ind  climate  required 129 

synonyms,  scientific  and  common 113, 114 

uses  and  value  of  wood 119 

Loc.ility,  influence  on  value  of  pines Ifi 

Longleaf  Pine,  article  Ijy  Charles  Mohr 29 

aBsociated  species 01 

beltof  eastern  Florida,  description 36 

blown  down  by  storms 02 

botanical  description  and  morphology 48, 121 

conditions  of  development 00 

cubic  contents,  by  decades GO 

demands  upon  soil  and  climate 00 

economic  importance 21) 

effects  of  naval-stores  industry 72 

estimate  of  timber  standing GO 

flower.'*,  dft.'irription 51 


,i!,tn»  ul  (jt™:y]a 

listics  of  Mississippi 

South  Carolina 

mierw.MicI,  iii-r  cent,  and  specific  gravity 


western  Louisiana,  description 44 

geograi»hical  distribution 30 

growth  and  development 55 

rate  of  growth,  by  decades T^O 

stage  of  rapid  growth 55 

stage  of  slow  growth 57 

height,  diameter,  and  cubic  contents,  by  decades .  60 

injured  by  fungi  (Polyponis) G.l 

insects  injurious 63 

leaf  products 48 

leaves  and  their  modification 49 

lumber  produced  in  Louisiana  in  1892 45 

Texa8inl892 46 

measurements  of  trees 38,39,41,44,45,40 

from  100  to  200  years  old.  59 

200  to  260  years  old.  SH 

■young  trees 57 

noiiiL-nciature  and  clas.sification 48 

notes  on,  additional,  by  Filibert  Eoth 74 

products 46 

raleof  growtl .59,60 

region  west  of  the  Mississippi,  description 44 

reproductions,  natural 64 

resinous  prod  nets 48 

root,  stem,  and  branch  system 49 

scientific  and  common  synonyms 13,28 

seeds,  description 51 


in  forests... \ 
n.vitywith 
!  of  section 


Louisiana,  eastern  Longleaf  Pice  forests,  de8crii)tion. 
,  Longleaf  Pino  lumber,  production  in  1892  . 


Longleaf  Pine,  production  in  Louisiana  in  1892 

Tex.isinl892 

.sliipmcuts  from  Alabama  in  1892 

Mississippi  in  1879-80  and  1883-1893 . . 

Moliilu  in  I880-1S94 

I'ensacola  in  1880-1893 

Savannah,  Brunswick,  Dnnen.and  St. 

M.irys,  1884-1894 

shipped  to  foreign  and  domestic  port,^  from  Charleston, 


S,  C, 


-1894. 


shipped  to  foreign  and  domestic  ports  from  Wilming. 

ton,  N.  C,  1880-1894 32 

Maritime  pine  belt  of  tlie  eastern  Gulf  region,  description 30 

Marsh  Pine 109 

Measurements  of  Loblolly  Pine,  by  decades 129 

from  different  regions 118,119 

Longleaf  Pine  trees '. 38,39,41,44,45,40 

from  100  to  200  years  old.        58 
200  to  266  years  old.        59 

Shortleaf  Pine  trees  at  different  ages 106 

of  different  regions 89-98 

Spruce  Pine  trees  at  different  ages 139 

trees  from  virgin  forests 35 

young  Longleaf  Pine  trees 57 

Mechanical  properties  of  wood  of  Southern  pines  compared. . .        14 

Medullary  rays 149-154 

Mississippi  Longleaf  Pine  forests,  description 42 

Innib.T  ?!iiiiniriit^,  r-7''  10  and  1883-1893 43 


42 


Mobile,  casks  of  s|iii  )i-  <,r  \  :,>],■  iiIihi-  exported,  1880-1894 J 

e.tportsof  naval  stores,  1S8U-1894 4 

rosin  iu  barrels,  1880-1894 4 

timber  and  lumber,  1880-1894 4 

llohr,  Ch.irles,  article  on  Cub.an  Pino  (.Finns  heterophylla) 7 

Loblolly  Pine  (Piniwtoda) U 

Longleaf  Pine  (/•tnujfpa^HK^ru) 2 

•Shortleaf  Pine  irUius  echinata) 9 

Spruce  Pine  [Pinus  glabra) 13 

Moisture  and  weight  of  pines 2 

influence  oh  strength  of  pine 1 

Mori)hology  and  botanical  description  of  Loblolly  Pine 12 

Longleaf  Pine 4; 

of  Cuban  Pine 8 

Naval  stores,  definition G 

effects  of  production  upon  the  timber  and  life  of 

tree  and  the  conditions  of  ibrests ^  7' 

exports  from  Charleston,  S.  C,  1880-1894 3: 

Mobile,  Ala.,  1880-1894 4( 

Savannah,  Ga.,  1880-1894 31 

Wilmington,  N.  C,  and  total  value, 

1880-1894 3: 

history  of  the  industry 01 

Komenclature  and  classilication  of  Loblolly  Pino 12 

Longleaf  Pine 4i 

Shortleaf  Pine 9! 

of  Cuban  Pine 81 

Southern  pines 1^ 

North  Carolina  Longleaf  Pine  forests,  description 31 

Orcharding  turpentine  in  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine 0! 

improved  methods 71 

Orchards,  turpentine,  cost  of  establishing  a  plant  for  working.  6t 


175 


Orchards,  turpentine,  tools  used 70 

PensaLuhi,  Fla.,  exportsof  timber  and  lumber,  1880-1893 37 

I'iim  Itarrens  proper 31 

Uelt,  central,  of  Alabama 41 

belts  of  IhrSBUth,  description U 

^■~    Cuban.    (Se^  Cuban  Pine.) 

diagnostic  features  of  the  wood 13 

distribution  of  strength  and  weight  tbronghout  tlie  tree.  10 

effect  of  age  on  wood 17 

forests  in  Virginia,  description ol 

grain  of  woods,  remarks 148 

influence  of  locality  on  value 18 

Ix)blolly.    (See  Loblolly  Pine.) 
Longleaf.     {.S'ee  Lougleaf  Pino.) 

range  nl  ■    lii  ■■  Inr  ■>■,  .  ^Iil  :iii,l  slinijjtb 18 

Scrub,  .-II  >                   '  ■     II.  11 1  -- 12 

Shortleiil.      (\  .    >l...r(l.  .il   I'm.  ,) 
Spruce.     (.SVf  Spruce  Pine.) 

tar,  methods  of  production 08 

tiniljer,  estimated  anuual  consumption 24 

estimate  of  quantity  ..^ 24 

statistics 23 

use  of  the  wood 21 

weight  and  moisture 20 

weight  and  strength  of  wood  at  ditTercnt  heights  in  tlie 

tree lii 

relatiims 15 

White,  habitat   12 

Pines,  best  common  names Ki 

botanical  names 13 

local  common  names 13 

mechanical  properties -  14 

most  important  timber  of  the  world 11 

notes  on  the  structure  of  the  wood  of  the  five  Southern, 

article  by  Filibcrt  Eoth 141 

remarks  on  shrinkage 2U 

Southern,  nomenclature 13 

wood  characteristics 13 

statistics 23 

Vinut  eclnnata,  article  by  Charles  Molir 91 

synonyms,  scientific  and  conuuon 02 

rilahi  a,  article  by  Charles  Mohr  («ce  Spruce  Pine) 135 

synonyms,  scientific  and  common 136 

heteropliylla,  article  by  Charles  Mohr  (see  Cuban  Pine)..  77 

botanical  diagnosis 12 

synonyms,  .srientifiojind  common 13.78 

palustiU,  article  by  Charles  Mubr(*ee  Longleaf  Pine) .. .  27 

botanical  diagnosis 12 

synonyms,  scientific  and  common 13.  28 

serotina,  observations  on,  by  Filibert  Koth 109 

strohun,  habitat 12 

lada,  article  by  Charles  Mohr 113 

botanical  diagnosis 12 

common  names  and  synonym.^ 13. 113 

Pitch,  common,  how  obtained 68 

Pond  Pine 109 

r.e.^in  ducts 153 

Itesi  n  from  Longleaf  Pine,  description  and  composition 07 

Uesinous  products  of  Cuban  Pino 80 

Loblolly  Pino 120 

Longleaf  Pine 48 

Kings,  annual,  description 144 

false 151 

Root,  stem,  and  branch  system  of  Loblolly  Pino 121 

Longleaf  Pino 49 

Rosin  or  colophonj^,  description  and  classification 68 

exported  from  Charleston.  S.  C,  in  barrels,  and  total 

value,  1880-1894 33 

Mobile,  Ala.,  in  barrels,  1880-1894 34 

Savannah,  Ga.,  in  barrels,  1880-1894 36 

Wilmington,    N.    C,    and   total   value, 

1880-1894 32 

Roth,  Filibert,  article  on  the  structure  of  the  wood  of  five 

So uthern  pines 141 

-No.  13—02 14 


Page, 


additional  notes  on  Cuban  Pine 89 

Loblolly  Pine 133 

Longleaf  Pine 74 

Shortleaf  Pine Ill 

observations  on  the  Marsh  or  Pond  Pine  {Pinua 

serotina ) 169 

wood,  remarks 143 

,  amount  of  naval  stores  exported,  1880-1894  ....  36 

exports  of  lumber,  1884-1894 36 

nnmbcr  of  barrels  of  rosin  exported,  1880-1894.  36 
number  of  casks  of  spirits  turpentine  exported 

18S0-1894 30 

,  article  by  Charles  Mohr 91 

botanical  description 101 

characteristics  of  descriptions  in  difl'erent  re- 
gions    94 

climate  and  soil  suitable 107 

conditions  of  development 107 

crowding  out  other  species 108 

descriptions  of  flowers  and  leaves 101 

characteristics  of  wood 103 

economic  importance 93 

enemies  108 

forest  mauagement 110 

geographical  distribution 93 

growth  after  ]  20  years 106 

from  8  to  50  years 105 

50  to  120  years 106 

height,  diameter,  and  cubic  con  tents  of  average 

trees  at  various  ages 106 

history  of  its  use 93 

measurement  of  trees  of  diiferent  regions !18 

nomenclature  and  classification 99 

notes  on,  addition.al,  by  Filibert  Roth HI 

products 99 

progress  of  development 104 

rate  of  growth  during  diflfercnt  periods  of  life  .  107 

relation  to  light  and  associated  species 108 

requirements  as  to  light 108 

shrinkage  of  wood 19 

.synonyms,  scientific  and  common 13 

e,  deUKindsby  Longleaf  Pine 60 

required  by  Loblolly  Pine 129 

Spruce  Pine 140 

suitable  to  Shortleaf  Pine 107 

required  for  development  of  Cuban  Pine 88 

South  Carolina  Longleaf  Pine  forests,  description 33 

statistics  of  Longleaf  Pine 33 

Southern  Pines,  nomenclature 13 

wood  characteristics 13 

Spring  and  summer  wood,  difference 146 

Spruce  Pine,  article  by  Charles  Mohr 135 

botanical  description 138 

climate  aud  soil  required 140 

distribution 137 

economic  importance 137 


1  and  clima 


growth  (height,  diameter,  and  cubic  contents) 
dift'erent  ages 

history 

progress  of  development 

requiremouta  of  development 

statistics  of  supply  and  production 

synomyms,  scientific  and  common 

Stem,  root,  and  branch  system  of  Loblolly  Pine 

Lougleaf  Pine 

St,  Marys  Ga,,  export<i  oflnmlicr.  1S31  1894 


I  ..nm  Longleaf  Pine 

i.l>.ciiic    jiravity  of  various  parts 

of  Longleaf  Pine 

I  per  cent,  from  pith  to  bark 

with   rate    of     growth    in 
Longleaf  Pine  tree 


176 


Synunvms,  soientific  and  rommoii,  of  Ciilmn  Pine  (Pinushetero- 

Vhylla) 

Loblolly      Pino      (Piims 

tada)  

Longlenf      Pine      (Pinux 

palustrLt) 

Shortleiif      Pino      iPiiius 

echinata)  

Spruce  Pine(Pint«(()!o!(m) 

Tar,  amonnt  shipped  from  Wilmington,  N.  0.,  1880-1894 

Tar,  pine,  methods  of  production 

Texas  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine,  description 

lumber  production  from  Longleaf  Pine 

Timber,  eflects  of  production  of  naval  stores  on  the  timber,  life 

of  tlio  tree,  and  tlie  conditions  of  the  forests 

estimate  of  Longleaf  Pine  standing 

exported  from  Pensaoola,  Fla.,  1880-1893 

exports  from  Mobile,  Ala.,  1880-1894 

regions,  supply  and  production 

shipments  from  Alabama,  ISH'J      

Tools  used  in  turpentine  orcbardin;;. 

Tracbeids _ 

Turpentine,  cost  of  establishing  a  plant  I'm-  w  oi  Uiu^r  ;iiuin]i:ii-d. 
crude  (or  resin)  from  Lon«;lHaf  Pine,  composition. 
oil.    (See  Spirits.) 

methods  of  distillation 

orchard,  cost  of  establishing  a  plant  for  working.. 

orch.arding,  an  improved  method 

injury  to  trees  and  forests 

in  lie  forests  of  Longleaf  Pine 


ningto 


N.  C, 


Turpentine,  spirits,  number  of  casks  shipped,  and  total  value 

from  Charleston,  S.  C,  1880-1804 

number  of  casks  shipped  fromMobile,  Ala., 

1880-1894 

or  oil,  chemical  composition ...:... 

Virginia  pine  forests \ 

Weight  and  strength  of  wood 

Wilmington.  N.  C.,  sbipments  of  lumber  to  foreign  and  domes- 
tic port.s,  1880-1894 

trade  in  naval  stores,  1880-1894 

Wood,  diagnostic  features  of  pine 

effect  of  age 

of  Cuban  Pine,  characteristics 

Loblolly  Pine,  characteristics 

description 

use  and  value 

Lonjileaf  Pine,  characteristics 

fuel  value 

minute  anatiimy  of 

pine,  remarks  on  grain 

Sbortleaf  Pine,  characteristics 

Southern  pines,  characteristics 

mechanical  properi  ies 

relation  of  strength  to  weight 

influence  of  locality 

moisture 

shrinkage 

the  five  Southern  pines,  article  by  I'ilibert  Roth 

sap  and  heart,  remarks 

sitring  and  sii  miner,  diflert-nce 

weight  and  strength  at  different  lieights  in  tree 


